Thermodynamically metastable skutterudite crystalline-structured compounds are disclosed having preselected stoichiometric compositions and superior and optimizable thermoelectric properties. The compounds are formed at low nucleation temperatures and satisfy the formula:M1-xM'4-yCoyM''12wherein: M=any metal, metalloid, or mixture thereof, except for La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Eu when x=0, and M'=Fe, Ru, or Os, and M''=Sb, P, or As; M'=Fe, Ru, Os, Rh, or mixture thereof; M''Sb, As, P, Bi, Ge0.5-wSe0.5+w, wherein w=0 to 0.5 or mixture thereof; x=0 to 1; y=0 to 4; and wherein M' and/or M'' are doped or undoped. These compounds generally have the crystalline structure of a skutterudite, wherein the crystalline structure is cubic with 34 atoms in the unit-cell in the space group Im+E,ovs 3+EE . The M''12 atoms occupy unit-cell sites 24(g), the M'4-y atoms form a cubic sublattice occupying unit-cell sites 8(c), and the M1-x atoms are positioned in two remaining "holes" or interstitial sites in the unit-cell, namely sites 2(a). These thermodynamically metastable skutterudite crystalline-structured compounds possess relatively low thermal conductivity properties with relatively high electrical conductivity properties, making the compounds ideal for use in thermoelectric devices.
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