Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.96, No.3, 791-797, 2013
Enhanced Electron Correlation in the In-doped Misfit-Layered Cobaltite Ca3Co4O9 Ceramics
The structural, magnetic, electrical and thermal transport properties of the polycrystalline samples Ca3Co4-xInxO9 (x=0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) have been investigated systematically. The results indicate that the In-substitution has a negative effect on the low-temperature ferrimagnetic transition and the propagation of spin-density-wave. All In-doped samples have a much larger resistivity than that of the un-doped sample. And the temperature region where the Fermi liquid transport mechanism dominates is remarkably widened via In-doping. However, for the In-doped samples, as the In-doped content increases, the value of resistivity decreases monotonously and the electronic correlation in the system enhances. With the addition of In-ions in Ca3Co4O9 system, the thermopower S and the ZT value decrease. The results are suggested to originate from the variations of carrier concentration and lattice disharmony in this system induced by In-doping.