Thermoelectric properties of Sr1−xNdxTiO3 ceramics

The thermoelectric properties of Sr1−xNdxTiO3 (x=0.02, 0.05, 0.10) ceramics were investigated from room temperature to 873K. The Seebeck coefficients presented a narrow-band behaviour, where the bandwidth increased with an increase of Nd content. With increasing Nd content, the magnitude of the Seebeck coefficient decreased, and the electrical conductivity increased because of the increase in carrier concentration. At the same time, the thermal conductivity decreased; because of that, the lattice thermal conductivity was reduced. The maximum value of the figure of merit reached 0.28 at 873K for the Sr0.9Nd0.1TiO3 sample, showing that Nd substitution is a promising approach for enhancement of the thermoelectric performance of strontium titanates.