Thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi2Sr2Co2O9 glass-ceramics

In the oxide system of Bi–Sr–Co glass melts have been prepared by adding a small amount of glass formers. A crystallization leads to crystalline phases of Bi8Sr8Co4O25, BiSrCo2Ox and Bi2Sr2Co2O9 (BC-222) densely embedded into a residual glass phase. This work shows the possibility of obtaining microstructured bulk material with low thermal conductivity and relatively high electrical conductivity via such a glass ceramic approach. Furthermore the stability of these materials under thermal cycling for temperatures up to 700 °C is shown. A characterization of the thermoelectric properties leads to a figure of merit (ZT) between 0.008 and 0.018.