Materials Characterization of Cobalt Antimonide Nanostructures as Thermoelectric Material. Issue 205 (12th February 2020) - Puri, Nidhi
Abstract: Cobalt antimonide (CoSb3 ) nanoparticles, a binary skutterudite structure, are synthesized by following solvothermal method using water as solvent. The solvothermally processed powders are annealed to remove the excess Sb to achieve single phase CoSb3 nanoparticles, and are examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicating the formation of cubic phase of CoSb3 . The structural analysis by selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and the elemental composition of 1:3 for Co and Sb using energy dispersive X-ray spectrophotometer (EDX) predicts formation of high purity crystalline CoSb3 nanoparticles. Morphology of the annealed CoSb3 powders observed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicates particle size of 50-100 nm. The ultraviolet–visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy estimates an energy gap of 3 eV. The nanosized CoSb3 skutterudites are potential intermediate-temperature thermoelectric materials with further application in developing efficient thermoelectric modules.