Synthesis and characterization of the intermetallic compound NiSbS

The results recently obtained by our group to get new thermoelectric materials belonging to the M-Pn-Ch ternary systems (M=Co, Fe, Ni; Pn=P, As, Sb, Ch=S, Se, Te) are here reported. We have considered the Ni-Sb-S ternary system, and some homogeneous samples of composition near to 1:1:1 were prepared employing a new and simple synthetic route, starting from pure elements. Scanning electronic microscopy, electron-probe microanalysis and X-ray powder diffraction were used to investigate the microstructure. The NiSbS lattice parameters were determined and the crystal structure was refined by Rietveld method. The crystal cell of NiSbS belongs to the P213 space group with a = 0.5931 nm. The thermal stability of the ternary compounds Ni-Sb-S was investigated by DSC technique. Electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power measurements at room temperature and at 77 K were performed on platelets obtained by cleavage of the bulk.