Abstract
We have prepared single crystals of type-VIII clathrate Ba8Ga15.9−xInxSn30.1 for x ≤ 0.60 by the Sn-flux method. As x is increased from 0 to 0.60, the lattice parameter increases by 0.2%, which is consistent with the larger covalent diameter for In than for Ga. The Seebeck coefficient α, electrical resistivity ρ, and thermal conductivity κ were measured in the temperature range from 300 K to 600 K. For all samples, α is negative, indicating the dominant charge carriers are electrons. With increasing x from 0 to 0.20, ρ and \(\left| \alpha \right|\) decrease by 50% and 30%, respectively. As a result, the lattice thermal conductivity at 300 K decreases from 0.58 W/Km to 0.41 W/Km, which is ascribed to enhancement of rattling of the guest atoms. It is found that the maximum of the dimensionless figure of merit ZT reaches 1.05 at 540 K for x = 0.20.
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