Simultaneously enhanced thermoelectric power and reduced resistivity of NaxCo2O4 by controlling Na nonstoichiometry

Abstract

Electrical resistivity (ρ) and thermoelectric power (S) were measured for NaxCo2O4 samples with various Na contents (x). A highly precise control of Na nonstoichiometry was facilitated by optimizing the synthesis procedure. With increasing x, the absolute value of ρ monotonically decreased, while the value of S increased. For the x=1.5 sample, S reached a value as high as ∼120 μV/K (at 300 K).