• 한국재료학회지
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• 제16권6호
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• pp.351-354
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• 2006

[ $Co_{1-x}Fe_xSb_3$ ] skutterudites were synthesized by encapsulated induction melting and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. Single phase ${\delta}-CoSb_3$ was successfully obtained by the subsequent heat treatment at 773 K for 24 hours in vacuum. However, ${\delta}-CoSb_3$ was decomposed to FeSb2 and Sb when $x{\leq}0.3$, which means that the solubility limit of Fe to Co is x<0.3. The positive signs of Seebeck coefficients for all Fe-doped specimens revealed that Fe atoms acted as p-type dopants by substituting Co atoms. Thermoelectric properties were remarkably enhanced by Fe doping and optimum composition was found to be $Co_{0.7}Fe_{0.3}Sb_3$ in this study.

• 세라미스트
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.133-145
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• 2019

Thermoelectric energy conversion has attracted much attention because it can convert heat into electric power directly through solid state device and vice versa. Current research is aimed at increasing the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT ) by improving the power factor and reducing the thermal conductivity. Although there have been significant progresses in increasing ZT of material systems composed of Bi, Te, Ge, Pb, and etc. over the last few decades, their relatively high cost, toxicity, and the scarcity have hindered further development of thermoelectrics to expand practical applications. In this paper, we review the current status of research in the fields of nanostructured thermoelectric materials with eco-friendly and low cost elements, such as skutterudites and oxides, for mid-high temperature applications, highlighting the strategies to improve thermoelectric performance.

• 한국분말야금학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국분말야금학회 2006년도 Extended Abstracts of 2006 POWDER METALLURGY World Congress Part 1
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• pp.686-687
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• 2006

The encapsulated induction melting and hot pressing were employed to prepare Fe-doped $CoSb_3$ skutterudites and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. Single phase $\delta-CoSb_3$ was successfully obtained by the subsequent heat treatment at 773K for 24 hours. Iron atoms acted as electron acceptors by substituting cobalt atoms. Thermoelectric properties were remarkably improved by the appropriate doping. $Co_{0.7}Fe_{0.3}Sb_3$ was found as an optimum composition for best thermoelectric properties in this work.

• 한국전기전자재료학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국전기전자재료학회 2007년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.83-84
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• 2007

Sn-filled and Ni-doped $CoSb_3$ skutterudites were prepared by encapsulated induction melting, and their filling and doping effects on thermoelectric properties were investigated. Single phase ${\delta}-CoSb_3$ was successfully obtained by encapsulated induction melting and subsequent heat treatment at 823K for 5 days. Nickel atoms acted as electron donors by substituting cobalt atoms. Thermoelectric properties were remarkably improved by Sn filling and Ni doping.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.89-92
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• 2005

The induction melting was employed to prepare Nb-doped $CoSb_3$ skutterudites and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. Single phase $\delta-CoSb_3$ was successfully obtained by induction melting and subsequent annealing at $400^{\circ}C$ for 2 hrs in vacuum. The positive signs of Seebeck coefficients for all the specimens revealed that Nb atoms acted as p-type dopants by substituting Co atoms. Electrical conductivity decreased and then increased with increasing temperature, indicating mixed conduction behavior. Electrical conductivity increased by Nb doping, and it was saturated at high temperature. Maximum value of the thermoelectric power factor was shifted to higher temperature with increasing the amount of Nb doping, mainly originated from the high Seebeck coefficient around mixed conduction temperature and high electrical conductivity.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.54-60
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• 2010

This paper shortly reviews our recent work on filled skutterudites, which are considered to be one of the most promising thermoelectric (TE) materials due to their excellent power factors and relatively low thermal conductivities. The filled skutterudite system also provides a platform for studying void filling physics/chemistry in compounds with intrinsic lattice voids. By using ab initio calculations and thermodynamic analysis, our group has made progresses in understanding the filling fraction limit (FFL) for single fillers in $CoSb_3$, and ultra-high FFLs in a few alkali-metal-filled $CoSb_3$ have been predicted and then been confirmed experimentally. FFLs in multiple-element-filled $CoSb_3$ are also investigated and anonymous filling behavior is found in a few specific systems. The calculated and measured FFLs, in both single and multiple-filled $CoSb_3$ systems, show good accordance so far. The thermal transport properties can be understood qualitatively by a phonon resonance scattering model, and it seems that a scaling rule may exist between the lattice thermal resistivity and the resonance frequency of filler atoms in filled system. Even though a few things become clear now, there are still many unsolved issues that call for further work.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제51권6호
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• pp.549-553
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• 2014

$CoSb_3$-based skutterudite compounds are candidate materials for thermoelectric power generation in the mid-temperature range (600 - 900 K) because their thermoelectric properties can be enhanced by doping and filling. The joining property of thermoelectric module electrodes containing thermoelectric materials is of great importance because it can dominate the efficiency of the thermoelectric module. This study examined the properties of $CoSb_3$/Al/Ti/CuMo joined by the spark plasma sintering technique. Titanium thin foil was used to prevent the diffusion of copper into $CoSb_3$ and Aluminum thin foil was used to improve the adhesion between $CoSb_3$ and Ti. The insertion of an Aluminum interlayer between the Ti and $CoSb_3$ was effective for joining $CoSb_3$ to Ti by forming an intermediate layer at the Al-$CoSb_3$ boundary without any micro cracks. Specifically, the adhesion strength of the Ti/Al/$CoSb_3$ joining interface showed a remarkable improvement compared with our previous results, without deterioration of electrical property in the interface.