Large Seebeck effect by charge-mobility engineering

Peijie Sun (), Beipei Wei, Jiahao Zhang, Jan M. Tomczak, A.M. Strydom, M. Søndergaard, Bo B. Iversen and Frank Steglich
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Peijie Sun: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beipei Wei: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jiahao Zhang: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jan M. Tomczak: Institute of Solid State Physics, Vienna University of Technology
A.M. Strydom: Highly Correlated Matter Research Group, University of Johannesburg
M. Søndergaard: University of Aarhus
Bo B. Iversen: University of Aarhus
Frank Steglich: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-5

Abstract: Abstract The Seebeck effect describes the generation of an electric potential in a conducting solid exposed to a temperature gradient. In most cases, it is dominated by an energy-dependent electronic density of states at the Fermi level, in line with the prevalent efforts towards superior thermoelectrics through the engineering of electronic structure. Here we demonstrate an alternative source for the Seebeck effect based on charge-carrier relaxation: a charge mobility that changes rapidly with temperature can result in a sizeable addition to the Seebeck coefficient. This new Seebeck source is demonstrated explicitly for Ni-doped CoSb3, where a marked mobility change occurs due to the crossover between two different charge-relaxation regimes. Our findings unveil the origin of pronounced features in the Seebeck coefficient of many other elusive materials characterized by a significant mobility mismatch. When utilized appropriately, this effect can also provide a novel route to the design of improved thermoelectric materials.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8475

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