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Published January 16, 2013 | Version Published + Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Phonon Scattering through a Local Anisotropic Structural Disorder in the Thermoelectric Solid Solution Cu_2Zn_(1−x)Fe_xGeSe_4

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon California Institute of Technology

Abstract

Inspired by the promising thermoelectric properties of chalcopyrite-like quaternary chalcogenides, here we describe the synthesis and characterization of the solid solution Cu_2Zn_(1–x)Fe_xGeSe_4. Upon substitution of Zn with the isoelectronic Fe, no charge carriers are introduced in these intrinsic semiconductors. However, a change in lattice parameters, expressed in an elongation of the c/a lattice parameter ratio with minimal change in unit cell volume, reveals the existence of a three-stage cation restructuring process of Cu, Zn, and Fe. The resulting local anisotropic structural disorder leads to phonon scattering not normally observed, resulting in an effective approach to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity in this class of materials.

Additional Information

© 2012 American Chemical Society. Received: August 30, 2012. Published: December 20, 2012. Financial support through the Excellence Initiative (DFG/GSC 266) is acknowledged by W.G.Z. and C.P.H. W.G.Z. furthermore thanks the Carl-Zeiss foundation for financial support. We also acknowledge Vadim Ksenofontov for performing Mössbauer spectroscopy. The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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Published - ja308627v.pdf

Supplemental Material - ja308627v_si_001.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
37138
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20130226-095225287

Funding

Carl-Zeiss Foundation
Excellence Initiative
DFG/GSC 266

Dates

Created
2013-02-26
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-09
Created from EPrint's last_modified field