Scaling behavior in thermoelectric misfit cobalt oxides

Abstract

We investigate both thermoelectric and thermodynamic properties of the misfit cobalt oxide [Bi$_{1.7}$Co$_{0.3}$Ca$_{2}$O$_{4}$]$^{RS}_{0.6}$CoO$_{2}$. A large negative magnetothermopower is found to scale with both magnetic field and temperature revealing a significant spin entropy contribution to thermoelectric properties giving rise to a constant S$_0\approx$ 60 $\mu$V K$^{-1}$ equal to the high temperature asymptotic value of the spin 1/2 entropy. Low temperature specific heat measurements allow us to determine an enhanced electronic part with $\gamma\approx$ 50 mJ (mol K$^{2}$)$^{-1}$ attesting of strong correlations. Thereby, a critical comparison between [Bi$_{1.7}$Co$_{0.3}$Ca$_{2}$O$_{4}$]$^{RS}_{0.6}$CoO$_{2}$, other cobaltites as well as other materials reveals a universal behavior of the thermopower low temperature slope as a function of $\gamma$ testifying thus a purely electronic origin. This potentially generic scaling behavior suggests here that the high room temperature value of the thermopower in misfit cobalt oxides results from the addition of a spin entropy contribution to an enlarged electronic one.