The effect of Fe substitution on the electrical and thermal conductivity and thermopower of Ca3(FexCo1−x)4O9 synthesised by a sol–gel process

Abstract

The effect of Fe substitution for Co on direct current (DC) electrical and thermal conductivity and thermopower of Ca3(Co1−xFex)4O9 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.08), prepared by a sol–gel process, was investigated in the temperature range from 380 down to 5K. The results indicate that the substitution of Fe for Co results in an increase in thermopower and DC electrical resistivity and substantial (14.9–20.4% at 300K) decrease in lattice thermal conductivity. Experiments also indicated that the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity ρ for heavily substituted compounds Ca3(Co1−xFex)4O9 (x = 0.08) obeyed the relation lnρ ∝ T−1/3 at low temperatures, T < ~55K, in agreement with Mott’s two-dimensional (2D) variable range hopping model. The enhancement of thermopower and electrical resistivity was mainly ascribed to a decrease in hole carrier concentration caused by Fe substitution, while the decrease of thermal conductivity can be explained as phonon scattering caused by the impurity. The thermoelectric performance of Ca3Co4O9 was not improved in the temperature range investigated by Fe substitution largely due to great increase in electrical resistivity after Fe substitution.