Thermoelectric properties of (1-x)LaCoO<inf>3</inf>.xLa<inf>0.7</inf>Sr<inf>0.3</inf>MnO<inf>3</inf> composite

We report the thermoelectric (TE) properties of (1-x)LaCoO3.xLa0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (0 < x < 0.50) composite in a temperature range 320–800 K. Addition of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 to LaCoO3 in small amount (5 weight %) improves the overall Seebeck coefficient (α) at higher temperatures. The electrical conductivity however decreases due to a decrease in carrier concentration of the composite. The decrease in electrical conductivity of the composite at high temperature may be attributed to the insulating nature of the LSMO above room temperature. Thermal conductivity (κ) of all the samples increases with an increase in the temperature, but decreases with increasing LSMO content. We also report the local variation of Seebeck coefficient across the composite samples measured using a precision Seebeck measurement system. A maximum value of 0.09 for the figure of merit (ZT) is obtained for 0.95LaCoO3.0.05La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 at 620 K which is significantly higher than the ZT of either of LaCoO3 or La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 at 620 K. This suggests the potential for enhancement of operating temperatures of hitherto well known low temperature thermoelectric materials through suitable compositing approach.