Patent ID: 8097802

Claim:
A thermoelectric material comprising a multiple transition metal-doped type I clathrate crystal structure having the formula A 8 TM y 1 1 TM y n n M z X 46-y 1 -y n -z , wherein: A is selected from the group consisting of barium, strontium, and europium; X is selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, and tin; M is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, gallium, and indium; TM 1 is selected from the group consisting of 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals; TM n is one or more transition metals selected from the group consisting of 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals; and y 1 , y n and Z are actual compositions of TM 1 , TM n , and M, respectively, wherein the actual compositions are based upon nominal compositions derived from the following equation: z=8·q A −|Δq 1 |y 1 −|Δq n |y n , wherein q A is a charge state of A, and wherein Δq 1 and Δq n are, respectively, the nominal charge state of the first and n-th TM.