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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2011
Electromagnetic and thermoelectric characteristics of a sodium-cobalt oxide, NaxCoO2, were investigated. A precise control of Na nonstoichiometry was successfully facilitated by an unusual synthesis method named “rapid heat-up” technique. With increasing x, the absolute value of resistivity (ρ) monotonically decreased, while the value of thermoelectric power (S) increased, giving rise to a drastic enhancement in the thermoelectric power factor, i.e. S2 / ρ. Simultaneously enhanced thermoelectric power and reduced resistivity of the present compound are difficult to be understood within the framework of a conventional band picture. Moreover, for samples with the solubility limit Na content, i.e. x = 0.75, we discovered an unconventional electronic transition at Tm = 22 K, which may be induced by the strong-correlation effect of 3d electrons.