Fast Preparation and Low-Temperature Thermoelectric Properties of CoSb3

Polycrystalline p-type CoSb3 was synthesized by the high-pressure method. The microstructure and temperature-dependent thermoelectric properties of CoSb3 were investigated. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy showed that single-phase CoSb3 with fine grain size could be quickly synthesized under high pressure. The carrier concentrations of CoSb3 could be tuned by more than a factor of 10 by changing the pressure during synthesis. With the increase of the synthetic pressure, the Seebeck coefficient and resistivity of CoSb3 increase while the thermal conductivity decreases.