High-Performance Thermoelectric Bulk Colusite by Process Controlled Structural Disordering

J Am Chem Soc. 2018 Feb 14;140(6):2186-2195. doi: 10.1021/jacs.7b11224. Epub 2018 Jan 31.

Abstract

High-performance thermoelectric bulk sulfide with the colusite structure is achieved by controlling the densification process and forming short-to-medium range structural defects. A simple and powerful way to adjust carrier concentration combined with enhanced phonon scattering through point defects and disordered regions is described. By combining experiments with band structure and phonons calculations, we elucidate, for the first time, the underlying mechanism at the origin of intrinsically low thermal conductivity in colusite samples as well as the effect of S vacancies and antisite defects on the carrier concentration. Our approach provides a controlled and scalable method to engineer high power factors and remarkable figures of merit near the unity in complex bulk sulfide such as Cu26V2Sn6S32 colusites.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.