Decoupling the Electrical Conductivity and Seebeck Coefficient in the RE 2SbO2 Compounds through Local Structural Perturbations

Compromise between the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient limits the efficiency of chemical doping in the thermoelectric research. An alternative strategy, involving the control of a local crystal structure, is demonstrated to improve the thermoelectric performance in the RE(2)SbO(2) system. The RE(2)SbO(2) phases, adopting a disordered anti-ThCr(2)Si(2)-type structure (I4/mmm), were prepared for RE = La, Nd, Sm, Gd, Ho, and Er. By …