Chemical composition tuning in quaternary p-type Pb-chalcogenides – a promising strategy for enhanced thermoelectric performance

Yamini, Sima Aminorroaya; Wang, Heng; Gibbs, Zachary M.; Pei, Yanzhong; Dou, Shi Xue; Snyder, G. Jeffrey

doi:10.1039/c3cp54493a

Cited by 48 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…[43] This rough estimate has been shown to be reasonably consistent with the calculation based on the detailed model taking into account the band nonparabolicity and multiband conduction effects. [19,27,28] As can be seen in Figure 4(d), the lattice thermal conductivity of the PbSnTeSe HEA with a highly symmetric NaCl structure is less than 0.6 Wm −1 K −1 at room temperature, which is far lower than that of binary compounds with the same crystal structure, for example, SnTe, [13] PbTe, [5,7] and PbSe, [9] also lower than that of PbTe-PbSe [21] and PbTe-PbSe-PbS [27] solid solutions with the same crystal structure, and even lower than that of SnSe [16] with a layered orthorhombic structure. This phenomenon should be ascribed to the strong phonon scattering that resulted from the severe lattice-distortion of the PbSnTeSe HEA.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1,3] Majority of IV-VI compounds tend to be dominant thermoelectric materials in the medium-temperature (500-900 K) range; these include most of lead chalcogenides (PbTe, [4][5][6][7][8] PbSe, [9,10] and PbS [11,12]), and tin chalcogenides (SnTe, [13,14] SnSe, [15][16][17] and SnS [18]). In addition, many mixtures composed of these compounds, such as PbTe-PbSe alloys, [19][20][21] PbTe-PbS alloys, [22,23] PbSe-PbS alloys, [24,25] SnSe-SnS alloys, [26] and PbTerich quaternary alloys of PbTe-PbSe-PbS, [27,28] have been extensively studied for further improving their performance. However, solid solutions on a simple underlying lattice have been much less frequently considered for thermoelectric applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermoelectric performance of PbSnTeSe high-entropy alloys

Fan

Wang

et al. 2016

Materials Research Letters

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In our study, we designed the PbSnTeSe high-entropy alloy (HEA) and investigated its microstructure and thermoelectric properties. It was found that the PbSnTeSe HEA has a simple face-centered cubic structure and possesses quite low lattice thermal conductivity at low temperatures, which could be ascribed to the strong phonon scattering due to its severe lattice-distortion. Minor additions of La not only enhanced both Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity at high temperatures, but also suppressed the bipolar effect to some degree. Our results indicate that the HEA concept could be applied for developing promising thermoelectric materials, which merits further investigation. IMPACT STATEMENTThe high-entropy alloy-design concept was employed to develop novel thermoelectric materials. Our findings indicate that this strategy effectively reduced the lattice thermal conductivity, which have important implications for the field. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermoelectric performance of PbSnTeSe high-entropy alloys

Fan

Wang

et al. 2016

Materials Research Letters

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“…IV-VI Materials-PbS-PbSe-PbTe The lead chalcogenides (including PbTe, PbSe, 42,44 PbS, 45 and their alloys [46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] ) are known to be good thermoelectric materials partly because of their complex electronic structure. The Fermi surface complexity factor and effective masses were also computed for these IV-VI compounds.…”

Section: Ii-vi and Iii-v Materials-cdte And Alasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective mass and Fermi surface complexity factor from ab initio band structure calculations

et al. 2017

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The effective mass is a convenient descriptor of the electronic band structure used to characterize the density of states and electron transport based on a free electron model. While effective mass is an excellent first-order descriptor in real systems, the exact value can have several definitions, each of which describe a different aspect of electron transport. Here we use Boltzmann transport calculations applied to ab initio band structures to extract a density-of-states effective mass from the Seebeck Coefficient and an inertial mass from the electrical conductivity to characterize the band structure irrespective of the exact scattering mechanism. We identify a Fermi Surface Complexity Factor: $${N}_{{\rm{v}}}^{\ast }{K}^{\ast }$$ N v * K * from the ratio of these two masses, which in simple cases depends on the number of Fermi surface pockets $$({N}_{{\rm{v}}}^{\ast })$$ ( N v * ) and their anisotropy K*, both of which are beneficial to high thermoelectric performance as exemplified by the high values found in PbTe. The Fermi Surface Complexity factor can be used in high-throughput search of promising thermoelectric materials.

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“…Alloying PbS with the single phase ternary system of (PbTe)0.9(PbSe)0.1, beyond its solubility limit results in the formation of PbS--rich precipitates within the PbTe--rich matrix with both phases exhibiting a NaCl--type face centred cubic (FCC) crystal structure [21]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elemental distributions within multiphase quaternary Pb chalcogenide thermoelectric materials determined through three-dimensional atom probe tomography

Yamini

Mitchell

et al. 2016

Nano Energy

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Nanostructured multiphase p-type lead chalcogenides have shown the highest efficiencies amongst thermoelectric materials. However, their electronic transport properties have been described assuming homogenous distribution of dopants between phases. Here, we have analyzed elemental distributions in precipitates and matrices of nanostructured multiphase quaternary Pb chalcogenides doped to levels below and above the solubility limit of the matrix, using three-dimensional atom probe tomography. We demonstrate that partitioning of sodium and selenium occur between the matrix and secondary phase in both lightly-and heavily-doped compounds and that the concentrations of sodium and selenium in precipitates are higher than those in the matrices. This can contribute to the transport properties of such multiphase compounds The sodium concentration reached ~3 at% in sulfur-rich (PbS) precipitates and no nano precipitates of Na-rich phases were observed within either phase, a result that is supported by high resolution TEM analysis, indicating that the solubility limit of sodium in PbS is much higher than previously thought. However, non-equilibrium segregation of sodium is identified at the precipitates/matrix interfaces. These findings can lead to further advances in designing and characterizing multiphase thermoelectric materials. AbstractNanostructured multiphase p--type lead chalcogenides have shown the highest efficiencies amongst thermoelectric materials. However, their electronic transport properties have been described assuming homogenous distribution of dopants between phases. Here, we have analyzed elemental distributions in precipitates and matrices of nanostructured multiphase quaternary Pb chalcogenides doped to levels below and above the solubility limit of the matrix, using three--dimensional atom probe tomography. We demonstrate that partitioning of sodium and selenium occur between the matrix and secondary phase in both lightly-- and heavily--doped compounds and that the concentrations of sodium and selenium in precipitates are higher than those in the matrices. This can contribute to the transport properties of such multiphase compounds The sodium concentration reached ~3 at.% in sulfur--rich (PbS) precipitates and no nano precipitates of Na--rich phases were observed within either phase, a result that is supported by high resolution TEM analysis, indicating that the solubility limit of sodium in PbS is much higher than previously thought. However, non--equilibrium segregation of sodium is identified at the precipitates/matrix interfaces. These findings can lead to further advances in designing and characterizing multiphase thermoelectric materials.

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Chemical composition tuning in quaternary p-type Pb-chalcogenides – a promising strategy for enhanced thermoelectric performance

Cited by 48 publications

References 41 publications

Thermoelectric performance of PbSnTeSe high-entropy alloys

Thermoelectric performance of PbSnTeSe high-entropy alloys

Effective mass and Fermi surface complexity factor from ab initio band structure calculations

Elemental distributions within multiphase quaternary Pb chalcogenide thermoelectric materials determined through three-dimensional atom probe tomography

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