Molten salt synthesis and thermoelectric properties of Ca₂Co₂O₅

A molten salt method was applied to synthesize Ca₂Co₂O₅ powder by using Co₃O₄ and CaCO₃ as raw materials and CaCO₃-CaCl₂ as eutectic salt. The formation process and molten salt mechanism of Ca₂Co₂O₅ were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that sheet-like particles can be obtained at 963 K. Moreover, the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient of the specimen were measured from 323 to 963 K. The properties increased with increasing temperature and the highest value of power factor (2.0 × 10^{- 4} W m^{- 1} K^{- 2}) was obtained at 963 K, which indicates that molten salt synthesis is a promising method to prepare high thermoelectric performance material.