The Properties of Reduced Ge-Sb-O Glasses for Thermoelectric Devices

The structural and electrical properties of germanium-antimonate glasses after heat treatment in hydrogen have been determined. In the case of 50GeO2-50Sb2O3 glass reduced at 340 °C even for less than 1 hour a continuous layer of antimony granules is formed and its electrical properties determine the surface conductivity of the reduced sample. The bulk electrical conductivity at 100 °C of this sample was determined as 1000 Scm-1 and the Seebeck coefficient at this temperature in reference to Pt was found to be α=(17.2±0.5) μVK-1.