Synthesis, crystal structure and transport properties of skutterudite-related CoSn1.5Se1.5

The skutterudite-related phase CoSn1.5Se1.5 has been synthesised and structurally characterized by powder X-ray diffraction data. CoSn1.5Se1.5 display trigonal symmetry, space group R3¯, unit cell parameters a = 12.3278(3) Å, c = 15.1267(6) Å, V = 1990.8(1) Å3 and Z = 24. Its crystal structure can be viewed as a modification of the ideal skutterudite structure CoAs3, where the Sn and Se anions order in layers perpendicular to the [1 1 1] direction of the skutterudite unit cell. Transport properties of the title compound, which is p-type semiconductor, have been investigated. The thermoelectric figure of merit ZTmax was found 0.1 at 600 K.