Thermoelectric power of Ce-based intermediate valent systems

The thermoelectric power was measured in the temperature range 6–300 K for a few Ce-based compounds known as intermediate valent systems, i.e. Ce2Ni2In, Ce2Rh2In, Ce2Ni2Ga and CeNi5Sn, in order to scan these ternaries for possible low-temperature thermoelectric applications. The experimental data were analyzed in terms of phenomenological models and compared to those reported in the literature for similar materials. The results corroborated unstable character of the Ce valence in the ternaries studied. However, the magnitude of the Seebeck coefficient, though being considerably enhanced, is for all of them much lower than those known for the best performers in the field of strongly correlated thermoelectrics: CePd3 and YbAl3.