Synthesis and Thermoelectric Properties of the New Oxide Materials Ca3-xBixCo₄O9+δ (0.0 < x < 0.75)

A new series of oxides Ca 3 - x Bi x Co 4 O 9+ δ, ( x = 0.0−0.75) with Ca 2 Co 2 O 5 -type structures were synthesized, and their structures, electrical properties, Seebeck coefficients, and thermal conductivities were measured. The values of Seebeck coefficients of the new oxides are all positive, showing that they are p-type conductors. Both the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficients increase with the increasing Bi contents which can be attributed to the increase of carrier mobility due to the larger size of Bi ion. The electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and the calculated value of the power factor of Ca 3 - x Bi x Co 4 O 9+ δ ( x = 0.5) are 105 S cm -1, 160 μV K -1, and 2.7 × 10 -4 W K -2 m -1 at 700 °C, respectively. The thermal conductivity of Ca 3- x Bi x Co 4 O 9+δ ( x = 0.5) at room temperature is 1.14 W m -1 K -1 and increase slightly with the increasing temperature. At 700 °C, the figure of merit of Ca 3- x Bi x Co 4 O 9+ δ ( x = 0.5) is 2.0 × 10 -4 K -1 .