Abstract
Double-filled skutterudites In (x) Pr (y) Co4Sb12, which are currently being investigated for potential applications as thermoelectric materials, have been successfully prepared by inductive melting and annealing. Our results showed that In and Pr double filling effectively improves both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient compared with pristine or single-filled CoSb3, giving rise to a respectable power factor. The largest power factor, 2.33 m Wm(-1) K-2, was achieved at 609 K for In0.05Pr0.05Co4Sb12; this value is approximately three times that for In (x) Co4Sb12 (x a parts per thousand currency sign 0.3) skutterudites. These results imply that In and Pr double filling are better than In single filling for efficient improvement of the thermoelectric properties of CoSb3 skutterudite.