ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AND THERMOELECTRIC POWER OF CU2O

Measurements of electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient have been made on p-type cuprous oxide single crystals in the temperature range from 300° to 500°K. The thermoelectric power decreased only slightly with temperature. Conductivity increased with temperature, with an activation energy of 0.26 eV. Cu2O may be nearly ionic and extrinsic conductivity could occur by thermally activated hopping, with electron exchange between Cu2+ and Cu+ ions. However, this interpretation is in disagreement with data on the Hall effect which indicate that hole mobility in the 300-500°K range decreases with increasing temperature. © 1969.