Improved High Temperature Thermoelectric Properties in Misfit Ca 3 Co 4 O 9 by Thermal Annealing

Arindom Chatterjee (), Alexandros El Sachat, Ananya Banik, Kanishka Biswas, Alejandro Castro-Alvarez, Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres, José Santiso and Emigdio Chávez-Ángel ()
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Arindom Chatterjee: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Alexandros El Sachat: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15341 Athens, Greece
Ananya Banik: New Chemistry Unit, School of Advanced Materials, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Bangalore 06484, India
Kanishka Biswas: New Chemistry Unit, School of Advanced Materials, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Bangalore 06484, India
Alejandro Castro-Alvarez: Laboratorio de Bioproductos Farmacéuticos y Cosméticos, Centro de Excelencia en Medicina Traslacional, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
José Santiso: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Emigdio Chávez-Ángel: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-13

Abstract: Ca 3 Co 4 O 9 , a p-type thermoelectric material based on transition-metal oxides, has garnered significant interest due to its potential in thermoelectric applications. Its unique misfit-layered crystal structure contributes to low thermal conductivity and a high Seebeck coefficient, leading to a thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) of ≥1 at 1000 K. Conventionally, it has been believed that thermopower reaches its upper limit above 200 K. However, our thermopower measurements on polycrystalline Ca 3 Co 4 O 9 samples have revealed an unexpected increase in thermopower above 380 K. In this study, we investigate the effects of high oxygen pressure annealing on Ca 3 Co 4 O 9 and provide an explanation based on the mixed oxide states of cobalt and carrier hopping. Our results demonstrate that annealing induces modifications in the defect chemistry of Ca 3 Co 4 O 9 , leading to a decrease in electron hopping probability and the emergence of a thermal activation-like behavior in thermopower. These findings carry significant implications for the design and optimization of thermoelectric materials based on misfit cobaltates, opening new avenues for enhanced thermoelectric performance.

Keywords: Ca 3 Co 4 O 9; thermoelectricity; heike’s limit; cobaltates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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