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Potassium and Sodium Filled Skutterudites

a technology which is applied in the field of potassium and skutterudites filled, to achieve the effects of ultra-high filling fraction, exceptional thermoelectric properties, and improved thermoelectric performance of these materials

Inactive Publication Date: 2010-05-06
GM GLOBAL TECH OPERATIONS LLC +1
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]Filled skutterudites are a class of recently discovered materials which show exceptional thermoelectric properties for automotive waste heat recovery and other thermoelectric applications. One of the challenges to further improve the thermoelectric performance of these materials is the existence of a so-called “Filling Fraction Limit (FFL)” for ternary filled skutterudites. The inventors have developed some first principles methods to understand the mechanisms controlling FFL for ternary filled skutterudites. Based on these tools and understanding, a very high FFL for K-filled and Na-filled ternary skutterudites was predicted even though these materials had not been made. For example, calculations showed that K can have an ultra-high filling fraction up to more than 60% in CoSb3, as compared with those previously reported fillers for CoSb3, such as Sr, Ba, Ca, La, Ce, and Yb.

Problems solved by technology

One of the challenges to further improve the thermoelectric performance of these materials is the existence of a so-called “Filling Fraction Limit (FFL)” for ternary filled skutterudites.

Method used

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  • Potassium and Sodium Filled Skutterudites
  • Potassium and Sodium Filled Skutterudites

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Embodiment Construction

[0013]Many physical properties of crystalline solids, such as the electrical or thermal transport, the luminescence, and the magnetic susceptibility, depend pivotally on the presence of impurities. Materials that possess the skutterudite structure are typical examples of narrow-gap semiconductors with relatively high impurity solubilities for the interstitial voids. In the past decade, filled skutterudites with different filler atoms (Ce, La, Nd, Eu, Yb, Tl, Ca, and Ba) have been intensively studied in an effort to search for better thermoelectric materials. In connection with this effort, a group of researchers, including an inventor in the subject of this application, studied the doping limit or FFL of various impurities for the intrinsic voids in the lattice of CoSb3 using the density functional method. This work is published as “Filling Fraction Limit for Intrinsic voids in Crystals: Doping in Skutterudites,” X. Shi, W. Zhang, L. Chen, and J. Yang, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 185503 (...

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Abstract

Interstitial voids of the cubic CoSb3 type skutterudite structure can be filled with sodium and / or potassium atoms. Such filled skutterudites have the general formulas, KyCo4Sb12 and NayCo4Sb12, where y indicates the filling fraction of potassium and sodium, respectively, in the CoSb3 cubic crystal structure, and has a value greater than zero and less than one. Also sodium-filled and / or potassium-filled skutterudites of the general formula, (K, Na)yT4Pn12 are made, where T denotes Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, or Ir; and “Pn” denotes one of the pnicogen elements P, As, or Sb. Again, y has values less than one.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]This invention pertains to filled skutterudites for thermoelectric applications. More specifically, this invention pertains to sodium-filled and potassium-filled skutterudites.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Skutterudite is the name of a CoAs3 containing mineral mined in the region of Skutterud, Norway to obtain cobalt and nickel. The mineral has a cubic crystal structure, and compounds with the same crystal structure are called skutterudites. The skutterudite crystal structure has two interstitial voids in each unit cell that are large enough to accommodate different atoms. When skutterudite type compositions are synthesized with atoms that are introduced into such voids, the products are called filled-skutterudites. Thus, filled skutterudites are derived from the skutterudite crystal structure.[0003]One group of filled skutterudites are represented by the formula LnT4Pn12; where “Ln” demotes one or more of the rare earth elements La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, T...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): C22C12/00
CPCC01G51/00C01G51/006C01P2002/54C01P2002/77C01P2004/80Y02P20/129
Inventor YANG, JIHUIZHANG, WENQINGCHEN, LIDONGMEISNER, GREGORY P.
Owner GM GLOBAL TECH OPERATIONS LLC
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