Low temperature thermoelectric properties of hot pressed composite samples of CrSb$_{\mathrm{2}}$: evidence for possible phonon-drag effect.

We present on the thermoelectric transport properties of CrSb$_{\mathrm{2}}$ samples prepared by hot-press densification in the temperature range of 2 - 350 K. At around 10 K, the thermal conductivity of CrSb$_{\mathrm{2}}$ decreases dramatically by three orders of magnitude compared to the single crystal counterpart. Analysis shows that the reduced thermal conductivity results from increased scattering of the phonons off the grain-boundaries within the samples. A strong interrelationship between the thermal conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient is observed; indicating a significant presence of phonon-drag effect in this system. With ZT $=$ 0.018 at 310 K for the sample hot pressed at 600 $^{\mathrm{o}}$C, an increase in ZT by 80 {\%} over the previously reported values for polycrystalline samples is achieved.