Anomalous Co-site substitution effects on the physical properties of the thermoelectric oxide NaCo2O4

We prepared polycrystalline samples of NaCo2-xMxO4 substituted for the Co site by other 3d or 4d elements (M=Mn,Cu, Zn, Ru, Rh, and Pd). While some of the elements (M=Mn,Ru and Rh) act as a strong scatterer to give rise to a rapid increase in resistivity, the others (M=Cu, Zn and Pd) do not deteriorate the electric conduction of the host. Most unusually, the Cu substitution significantly enhances the thermopower, which increases the figure of merit by several times at 100 K.