Thermal and electrical transport properties of ordered FeAl2

The thermal and electrical transport properties of the ordered intermetallic FeAl2 have been measured as a function of temperature between 10 and 300 K. The electrical resistivity (ρ) is about 400 μ cm over a broad temperature range. In character, it resembles those of semimetals, in spite of its anomalous low-temperature upturn. The thermal conductivity (κ) at room temperature is high, approximately 7 W m−1 K−1. The measured thermoelectric power is negative at low temperatures where there is also a positive phonon-drag effect, but changes to positive values above 220 K. This observation is ascribed to the positive carriers thermally excited across the pseudogap at higher temperatures. The electronic characteristics of FeAl2 are compared to those of other semimetallic materials.