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Proceedings Paper

Effect of chemical pressure manipulation on the valence and thermoelectric properties of the intermediate valence compound YbCu2-xNixGe2
Author(s): Gloria J. Lehr; Spencer L. Waldrop; Winston D. Carr; Donald T. Morelli
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Paper Abstract

The thermoelectric properties of YbCu2Ge2 at low temperature are unremarkable, however it has been found to be an intermediate valence compound. Previous work has shown that manipulation of valence in such compounds by chemical pressure can have dramatic effects on the value of the Seebeck coefficient. YbCu2Ge2 has been found to exist in a nearly divalent, Yb2+, state at room temperature, which if increased towards 2.5 has the promise of increasing the Seebeck coefficient substantially. In this study a full solid solution of YbCu2Ge2 and YbNi2Ge2 was created to exert a chemical pressure on the Yb and shift the valence away from the nominally divalent. A dramatic increase in the Seebeck coefficient was found as well as a substantial decrease in the thermal conductivity. These effects resulted in a substantial increase in ZT at low temperature and further emphasized the applicability and large effect that valence manipulation can have on intermediate valence compounds.

Paper Details

Date Published: 17 May 2016
PDF: 18 pages
Proc. SPIE 9821, Tri-Technology Device Refrigeration (TTDR), 98210H (17 May 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2228757
Show Author Affiliations
Gloria J. Lehr, Michigan State Univ. (United States)
Spencer L. Waldrop, Michigan State Univ. (United States)
Winston D. Carr, Michigan State Univ. (United States)
Donald T. Morelli, Michigan State Univ. (United States)


Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9821:
Tri-Technology Device Refrigeration (TTDR)
Richard I. Epstein; Bjørn F. Andresen; Markus P. Hehlen; Ingo N. Rühlich; Mansoor Sheik-Bahae; Thomas Fraser, Editor(s)

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