Thermal and electrical transport properties of the single-phase quasicrystalline material: Al70.8Pd20.9Mn8.3

Abstract

The electrical and thermal transport properties of a single-phase quasicrystalline material of composition Al70.8Pd20.9Mn8.3 have been measured as a function of temperature (T) over a range of 10 K<T<320 K. The following room-temperature values were found: electrical conductivity [640 (Ω cm)−1], Seebeck coefficient (85 μV/K), and thermal conductivity (1.6 W/m K). As the temperature was decreased from room temperature, the electrical conductivity decreased undergoing a minimum at T≈50 K after which it increased slightly and the Seebeck coefficient decreased monotonically. The thermal conductivity decreased with temperature and exhibited a broad plateau region between 50 K<T<150 K. This class of materials is being investigated for potential thermoelectric applications.