Anomalous Nernst Effect in Bulk Pr0.5Sr0.5CoO3

Abstract

Spin-dependent thermoelectric research has drawn overwhelming attention during the last few years because of its potentiality in energy harvesting and communication applications. Waste heat from locomotives and industries can be converted into electrical and electronic signals to power their own electronics. The Anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) one of the thermomagnetic phenomena proposed to be useful for heat to electrical energy conversion even from a curved surface unlike a conventional thermoelectric module based on semiconductors. Here, we have systematically studied the ANE in polycrystalline metallic perovskite Pr0.5Sr0.5CoO3 as a function of temperature and external magnetic fields. The ANE shows a rapid increase at the onset of ferromagnetic transition (TC ~ 229 K) and after showing a broad maximum at lower temperatures, and it decreases linearly below 100 K. Magnetic field dependence of the ANE, quantified by the transverse Seebeck coefficient (Sxy), exhibits hysteresis below TC as like the magnetization. The maximum saturated value of Sxy due to ANE (~ 0.46 μVK¬-1) found near 175 K (below TC) is ~ 400 times higher than the manganite analog Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3, and larger than other polycrystalline perovskite oxides reported to date. Our analysis suggests that ANE in this sample is most likely due to asymmetric skew scattering of charge carriers. This work may open a new pathway for the perovskite magnetic oxides for energy-saving applications.