This book informs the reader about a fascinating class of materials referred to as skutterudites, the atomic lattice of which has large structural voids that can be filled by a variety of foreign species, spanning from alkali to alkaline to rare earth ions. The fillers, in their unique way, drastically modify the physical properties of the parent structure, giving rise to outstanding thermoelectric properties.

This exciting material is of growing importance and is finding applications in a variety of different fields. This book will be of interest to researchers working in materials science, physics, and chemistry in addition to graduate students in these subjects.

Features:

• Gives a comprehensive account of all fundamental physical properties of skutterudites
• Each major topic is accompanied by introductory sections and a further detailed theoretical treatment is provided in Appendices
• Supported by many figures and a vast number of relevant references