LnPdSb (Ln=La,Gd): Promising intermetallics with large carrier mobility for high performance p-type thermoelectric materials

The authors studied the thermoelectric properties of LaPdSb and GdPdSb. The values of the thermoelectric power were positive and relatively large (60–100μV∕K). The values of the electrical resistivity were on the order of 10−4Ωcm, which is unexpectedly low in view of the large values observed for the thermoelectric power. From the Hall effect measurements, the unusually low electrical resistivity was confirmed to be caused by the large carrier mobility. LaPdSb indicated a large power factor of 50μW∕K2cm at 327K and a large dimensionless figure of merit of 0.26 at around room temperature.