Thermoelectric properties of molybdenum oxides LnMo8O14 (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd and Sm)
Abstract The series LnMo 8 O 14 (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd and Sm) containing bicapped Mo 8 clusters was synthesized via solid state reaction at 1673 K. Oxides of this type were reported to be narrow gap semiconductors. Our Seebeck coefficient measurements show that some of these reduced molybdenum oxides exhibit a thermopower of above −100 μV/K at room temperature, which is promising for the thermoelectric application. The highest power factor of 71 μW/mK 2 was obtained for SmMo 8 O 14 at 1152 K.