Author(s)

Omar Oabi¹, Abdelkarim Maaroufi¹, Bruno Lucas², Aumeur El Amrani³

¹Laboratory of Composite Materials, Polymers and Environment, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed V, Rabat-Agdal, Morocco.
²XLIM UMR 6172-Université de Limoges/CNRS, Limoges Cedex, France.
³LPSMS, FST Errachidia, University Moulay Ismail Meknès, Errachidia, Morocco.

The overall purpose of the present study is basically to understand the manifestation of the thermo-electrical properties of the matrix ZnO-P₂O₅ first, and of the ZnO-P₂O₅ composites loaded with different volume fractions of nickel (Ni) as conductive fillers. In the matrix ZnO-P₂O₅, the values of electrical conductivity varied between 1.14 × 10^-8 and 7.8 × 10^-7 (S/cm), and the Seebeck coefficient value varied between minimal value 265 and maximal value 670 (μV/K) in the studied temperature. In composite ZnO-P₂O₅/Ni, it was shown that the Seebeck coefficient changed from high positive to negative values when the filler amount was increased, indicating a non-conducting to conducting phase transition. Such behavior exhibits that this transition is accompanied by the passing of carrier charge from p to n type. The study of thermoelectrically transport for high volume fraction of filler enabled the achievement, for the first time on this kind of composites, of an original transition called PTC transition. Thus, highest values of power factor (PF = S² ≈ 2 × 10^-3 W·m^-1_·K^-2 at 407 K) were obtained, giving a possibility of industrial applications.

Zinc Phosphate Glasses, Composites, Seebeck Coefficient, Power Factor

Oabi, O. , Maaroufi, A. , Lucas, B. and Amrani, A. (2016) Thermoelectric Properties of ZnO-P₂O₅/(Ni) Composites. New Journal of Glass and Ceramics, 6, 19-27. doi: 10.4236/njgc.2016.63003.