用熔融退火法结合放电等离子烧结(SPS)技术成功制备了具有不同In含量的InxCo4Sb12(x=0.1—0.4)方钴矿化合物.X射线衍射分析和扫描电镜分析结果表明,当In的掺杂量超过一定值时,化合物中会原位析出纳米InSb的第二相,且其含量会随In掺杂量的增加而增大.研究结果表明,InSb第二相的存在增大了化合物的功率因子,降低了化合物的晶格热导率,显著提高了化合物的热电性能.在温度为800K时,In0.35Co4Sb12样品的最大热电优值(ZT值)达到了1.21。
Skutterudite compounds InxCo4Sb12(x = 0.1—0.4) have been synthesized by a melt-quench-anneal-spark plasma sintering method.x-ray diffraction(XRD) and filed emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) results show that doping of In results in a nano structured InSb phase distributed in the grain boundaries when the content of In exceeds its filling fraction limit in the skutterudites.Furthermore,the content of InSb increases with increasing In content.Our research indicates that the existence of nanostructured secondary phase InSb increases the power factor,decreases the lattice thermal conductivity,and therefore remarkably improves the thermoelectric properties of the compounds.The highest thermoelectric figure of merit ZT = 1.21 is achieved at 800 K in the In0.35Co4Sb12 compound.