Fabrication and Characterization of Thermoelectric Oxide La_1−xSr_xCoO₃ (x∼0.05) Nanofibers

The P-type perovskite oxides La_1−xSr_xCoO₃ (x∼0.05) are a promising group of complex oxide thermoelectric materials. The thermal electric properties of these complexes are expected to increase significantly when their dimension was reduced to nano scale. In this project, the La_1-xSr_xCoO₃ (x∼0.05) nanofibers, with diameters in the range of ∼30–80 nm, were prepared by the electrospinning process. Various substrates such as aluminum foil, silicon dioxide, and a specially designed tester were used to collect and anneal the nanofibers. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted to characterize these thermoelectric nanofibers. Finally, a thermoelectric property tester device was developed and used to measure the voltage output of the nanofibers due to the Seebeck effect. The detected signal was at the mV level and the Seebeck coefficient was positive.