Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2013
As an approach to improve the thermoelectric properties of the polycrystalline Ca3Co4O9 misfit-layered oxide, substitutions of Co2+…4+ with the heavier cations Ru3+/4+ and In3+ were tested. Polycrystalline samples Ca3Co4-xRuxO9 and Ca3Co4-xInxO9 (0 < x < 0.21) were prepared via a solid-state-reaction route. For each sample the crystal structure was analyzed and a complete thermoelectric characterization was done within a temperature range of 300 K < T < 1125 K.
Both substitution strategies resulted in a significant decrease of the thermal conductivity (κ). For the In3+-substituted samples the decrease of the Seebeck coefficient (α) balanced the κ reduction so that no overall enhancement of the figure of merit (ZT) was found. The Ru3+/4+ substitution reduced the p-type carrier concentration and thus increases the electrical resistivity (ρel), while α became larger at low temperatures. Despite the reduction of the power factor, a small enhancement in ZT was observed in the case of x = 0.1 Ru substitution, due to the strong κ reduction. Considering the observed preferred orientation of the Ru-substituted crystallites, a maximum value of ZT = 0.14 perpendicular to the pressing direction is found at T = 1125 K, indicating that Ru substitution is a promising strategy for a further ZT improvement.