Thermoelectric performance in electron and hole doped PtSb$_2$

Abstract

We employ density functional theory to investigate the thermoelectric properties of electron and hole doped PtSb$_2$. Our results show that for doping of 0.04 holes per unit cell (1.5$\times10^{20}$ cm$^{-3}$) PtSb$_2$ shows a high Seebeck coefficient at room temperature, which can also be achieved at other temperatures by controlling the carrier concentration (both electron and hole). The electrical conductivity becomes temperature independent when the doping exceeds about 0.20 electrons/holes per unit cell. The figure of merit at 800 K in electron and hole doped PtSb$_2$ is 0.13 and 0.21, respectively. The thermoelectric efficiency with same host material are predicted for certain doping levels.