Filled Skutterudites as Thermoelectric Materials

Filled skutterudites have shown promise as semiconducting materials with superior thermoelectric properties at temperatures up to at least 650 °C. This finding is a breakthrough in a continuing investigation of the potential utility of skutterudites as thermoelectric materials. Previous results of this investigation were reported in several articles in NASA Tech Briefs; namely, "Skutterudite Compounds for Power Semiconductor Devices" (NPO-19378), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 20, No. 3 (March 1996), page 60; "Two Potentially Useful Ternary Skutterudite Compounds" (NPO-19409), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 20, No. 11 (November 1996), page 66; and "Preparation and Some Properties of n-Type IrxCo1 — xSb3" (NPO-19852), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 20, No. 11 (November 1996), page 94.