Protective properties of YSZ/Ti film deposited on CoSb3 thermoelectric material

The YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia)/Ti film was deposited on CoSb3 substrate by magnetron sputtering to suppress the sublimation of antimony in CoSb3 during thermal aging test. Both YSZ and Ti film were columnar crystal. The YSZ film typically grew on Ti film in the island mode. No cracks, porosity or other defects were observed on YSZ film. The weight loss per unit area of CoSb3 samples coated with YSZ/Ti film was much lower than that of uncoated CoSb3 sample after accelerated thermal aging test. The results indicated that the sublimation of antimony in CoSb3 was effectively suppressed by YSZ/Ti film.