Thermoelectric properties of Ce$_{x}$Nd$_{y}$Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ skutterudites

Experimental results of studying the thermoelectric properties of Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$, Ce$_{0.1}$Nd$_{0.5}$Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$, and Ce$_{0.5}$Nd$_{0.1}$Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ prepared by induction melting are presented. The thermoelectric figure of merit $ZT$ of the studied Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ is approximately two times higher than $ZT$ of unfilled skutterudites prepared by the conventional solid-phase synthesis method. The figure of merit of Ce$_{0.1}$Nd$_{0.5}$Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ и Ce$_{0.5}$Nd$_{0.1}$Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ appears lower than $ZT$ of Co$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ due to the presence of an impurity phase of metal antimony in the first two samples. It is assumed that the thermoelectric properties of filled skutterudites can be significantly improved by optimizing the induction melting method.