Structural and Thermoelectric Properties of (Zn1-xMx)13Sb10 (M = Cu, Ag, Au and Ga)

Effect of substitution for Zn by its neighboring elements of Cu, Ag, Au and Ga in the periodic table on the thermoelectric property has been investigated for the Zn13Sb10 compound prepared by a quenching method. A small amount of Ga is successfully substituted for the Zn site with the solubility limit of 10%, and enhances metallic conduction. The improvement of the power factor has been achieved by 25% at 340 K for the 10% Ga-substituted system. n-type conduction is not obtained by the Ga substitution. On the other hand, the substitution of the other elements of Cu, Ag and Au has led to the formation of totally different phases from the 13:10 phase.