Exceptionally high electronic mobility in defect-rich Eu[subscript 2]ZnSb[subscript 2;#8722;x]Bi[subscript x] alloys
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Abstract not provided
EuZn2Sb2 crystallizes in the trigonal P-3m1 space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Eu2+ is bonded to six equivalent Sb3- atoms to form EuSb6 octahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent ZnSb4 tetrahedra, edges with six equivalent EuSb6 octahedra, and edges with six equivalent ZnSb4 tetrahedra. All Eu–Sb bond lengths are 3.29 Å. Zn2+ is bonded to four equivalent Sb3- atoms to form ZnSb4 tetrahedra that share corners with six equivalent EuSb6 octahedra, corners with six equivalent ZnSb4 tetrahedra, edges with three equivalent EuSb6 octahedra, and edges with three equivalent ZnSb4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 21–54°. There are three shorter (2.74 Å) and one longer (2.81 Å) Zn–Sb bond lengths. Sb3- is bonded to three equivalent Eu2+ and four equivalent Zn2+ atoms to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing SbEu3Zn4 pentagonal bipyramids.
Abstract AMX compounds with the ZrBeSi structure tolerate a vacancy concentration of up to 50 % on the M ‐site in the planar MX ‐layers. Here, we investigate the impact of vacancies on the thermal and electronic properties across the full EuCu 1− x Zn 0.5 x Sb solid solution. The transition from a fully‐occupied honeycomb layer (EuCuSb) to one with a quarter of the atoms missing (EuZn 0.5 Sb) leads to non‐linear bond expansion in the honeycomb layer, increasing atomic displacement parameters on the M and Sb‐sites, and significant lattice softening. This, combined with a rapid increase in point defect scattering, causes the lattice thermal conductivity to decrease from 3 to 0.5 W mK −1 at 300 K. The effect of vacancies on the electronic properties is more nuanced; we see a small increase in effective mass, large increase in band gap, and decrease in carrier concentration. Ultimately, the maximum zT increases from 0.09 to 0.7 as we go from EuCuSb to EuZn 0.5 Sb.
Abstract AMX compounds with the ZrBeSi structure tolerate a vacancy concentration of up to 50 % on the M ‐site in the planar MX ‐layers. Here, we investigate the impact of vacancies on the thermal and electronic properties across the full EuCu 1− x Zn 0.5 x Sb solid solution. The transition from a fully‐occupied honeycomb layer (EuCuSb) to one with a quarter of the atoms missing (EuZn 0.5 Sb) leads to non‐linear bond expansion in the honeycomb layer, increasing atomic displacement parameters on the M and Sb‐sites, and significant lattice softening. This, combined with a rapid increase in point defect scattering, causes the lattice thermal conductivity to decrease from 3 to 0.5 W mK −1 at 300 K. The effect of vacancies on the electronic properties is more nuanced; we see a small increase in effective mass, large increase in band gap, and decrease in carrier concentration. Ultimately, the maximum zT increases from 0.09 to 0.7 as we go from EuCuSb to EuZn 0.5 Sb.
Topological electronic structures emerge from order in a high-performance Zintl-phase thermoelectric.
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Abstract The Zintl thermoelectric phase Eu 2 ZnSb 2 has a remarkable combination of high mobility and low thermal conductivity that leads to good thermoelectric performance. The key feature of this compound is a crystal structure that has a Zn-site with a 50% occupancy. Here we use comparison of experimental thermal conductivity measurements and first principles thermal conductivity calculations to characterize the thermal conductivity reduction. We find that partial ordering, characterized by local order, but Zn-site disorder on longer scales, leads to an intrinsic nanostructuring induced reduction in thermal conductivity, while retaining electron mobility. This provides a direction for identifying Zintl compounds with ultralow lattice thermal conductivity and good electrical conductivity.