Natural nanostructure and superlattice nanodomains in AgSbTe2

AgSbTe2 has long been of interest for thermoelectric applications because of its favorable electronic properties and its low lattice thermal conductivity of ∼0.7 W/mK. In this work, we report new findings from a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study revealing two nanostructures in s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2014-04, Vol.115 (14)
Main Authors: Carlton, Christopher E., De Armas, Ricardo, Ma, Jie, May, Andrew F., Delaire, Olivier, Shao-Horn, Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:AgSbTe2 has long been of interest for thermoelectric applications because of its favorable electronic properties and its low lattice thermal conductivity of ∼0.7 W/mK. In this work, we report new findings from a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study revealing two nanostructures in single crystal Ag1−xSb1+xSb2+x (with x = 0, 0.1, 0.2); (i) a rippled natural nanostructure with a period of ∼2.5–5 nm and (ii) superlattice ordered nanodomains consistent with cation ordering predicted in previous density functional theory studies. These nanostructures, combined with point-defects, probably serve as sources of scattering for phonons, thereby yielding a low lattice thermal conductivity over a wide temperature range.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4870576