Calculated thermoelectric properties of La-filled skutterudites
- 15 July 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review B
- Vol. 56 (4), R1650-R1653
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.56.r1650
Abstract
The thermoelectric properties of La-filled skutterudites are discussed from the point of view of their electronic structures. These are calculated from first principles within the local-density approximation. The electronic structure is in turn used to determine transport related quantities. Virtual-crystal calculations for La(Fe,Co) show that the system obeys near rigid band behavior with varying Co concentration, and has a substantial band gap at a position corresponding to the composition LaFe The valence-band maximum occurs at the point and is due to a singly degenerate dispersive band, which by itself would not be favorable for high thermopower. However, very flat transition-metal-derived bands occur in close proximity and become active as the doping level is increased, giving a nontrivial dependence of the properties on carrier concentration and explaining the favorable thermoelectric properties.
Keywords
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