Marlow Industries will be fabricating `filled` Skutterudite materials and determining their thermoelectric properties in the refrigeration and lower power generation temperature range (77K-350K). The recent verification of promisingly high mobilities, and low thermal conductivities measured in the basic Skutterudite family, and the independent confirmation of these values, have established an entirely new family of potential materials. The inherent advantage of these materials is their availability in powder and crystal form, their cubic symmetry, and their potential for high thermoelectric transport properties. The materials chosen to fill the two vacancies in the Skutterudite unit cell will be chosen to explore p and n-type materials and to determine their effect on further reducing the thermal conductivity by changing the molecular weight, atomic radius and valence state of the `filler`. The obvious impact on the refrigeration, air conditioning and power generation market make this program essential to the maintenance of U.S. industry leadership in these markets. Phase I will evaluate the potential of these materials and define the nature of the barriers to be overcome to achieve economically viable synthesis pathways in the follow on Phase II.
