Investigation of the Thermoelectric Properties of the Series TiCo1-xNixSnxSb1-x

The effect of the simultaneous substitution of cobalt by nickel and antimony by tin in the solid solution TiCo1–xNixSnxSb1–x was systematically investigated. The number of valence electrons does not change by this substitution and therefore the resistivity stays semimetallic or semiconducting. The series were synthesized by arcmelting and the thermoelectric properties were determined. It was found out that the substitution of cobalt and antimony by nickel and tin reduces the thermal conductivity to 2 W·m–1·K–1 at 400 K. The reduction is caused by titanium rich prolate micro structures that were found by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy investigations. The Seebeck coefficient and the res…