Processing and Characterization of Nano-structured ZrO2/CoSb3 Thermoelectric Composites

The addition of ceramic inclusion to a thermoelectric matrix could reduce the thermal conductivity of the composite, which is attributed to phonon scattering on the generated interfaces. The electrical conductivity of the composite, however, could also be reduced due to additional charge carrier scattering. The performance of the thermoelectric composite, therefore, depends on the resulting ratio of electrical conductivity to thermal conductivity, which results from the entire scattering effects on phonons and charge carriers. In the present work, nano-sized ZrO₂ powders of different contents, which were expected to minimize their scattering impact on charge carriers, were dispersed into sub-micron-sized CoSb₃ powders via ball milling. The as-milled powders were consolidated into dense compacts by hot pressing. The phase, the microstructure, and the thermoelectric properties of the prepared compacts were characterized. The correlation of phase purity, microstructure, and thermoelectric properties (electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and ratio of electrical conductivity to thermal conductivity), with the ceramic content and sintering temperature is presented. The results show how the performance of the investigated thermoelectric composites can be affected by the dispersion of nano-sized ceramic inclusions. It is noted that the selection of appropriate inclusion content is crucial to maintaining or improving the ratio of electrical conductivity to thermal conductivity