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Cherniushok O, Parashchuk T, Snyder GJ, Wojciechowski KT. Discovery of a New Cu-Based Chalcogenide with High zT Near Room Temperature: Low-Cost Alternative for the Bi 2Te 3-Based Thermoelectrics. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2025; 37:e2420556. [PMID: 40116527 PMCID: PMC12051737 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202420556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2024] [Revised: 02/26/2025] [Indexed: 03/23/2025]
Abstract
Copper-based chalcogenides are cost-effective and environmentally friendly thermoelectric (TE) materials for waste heat recovery. Despite demonstrating excellent thermoelectric performance, binary Cu2X (X = S, Se, and Te) chalcogenides undergo superionic phase transitions above room temperature, leading to microstructural evolution and unstable properties. In this work, a new γ-phase of Cu6Te3- xS1+ x (0 < x ≤ 1) is discovered, a narrow-bandgap semiconductor with outstanding thermoelectric performance and high stability. By substituting Te with S in metallic Cu6Te3S, the crystal symmetry is modified and structural phase transitions are eliminated. The γ-phase exhibits a significantly higher Seebeck coefficient of up to 200 µVK-1 compared to 8.8 µVK-1 for Cu6Te3S at room temperature due to optimized carrier concentration and increased effective mass. Cu6Te3- xS1+ x materials also demonstrate ultralow thermal conductivity (≈0.25 Wm-1K-1), which, in concert with improved power factors, enables a high zT of ≈1.1 at a relatively low temperature of 500 K. Unlike most Cu-based chalcogenides, the γ-phase exhibits excellent transport property stability across multiple thermal cycles, making it a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to Bi2Te3-based materials. The developed Cu6Te3- xS1+ x is a promising candidate for thermoelectric converters in waste heat recovery, and its potential can be further extended to cooling applications through carrier concentration tuning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic ChemistryFaculty of Materials Science and CeramicsAGH University of KrakowMickiewicza Ave. 30Krakow30–059Poland
| | - Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic ChemistryFaculty of Materials Science and CeramicsAGH University of KrakowMickiewicza Ave. 30Krakow30–059Poland
| | - G. Jeffrey Snyder
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringNorthwestern UniversityEvanstonIL60208USA
| | - Krzysztof T. Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic ChemistryFaculty of Materials Science and CeramicsAGH University of KrakowMickiewicza Ave. 30Krakow30–059Poland
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2
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Cherniushok O, Parashchuk T, Cardoso-Gil R, Grin Y, Wojciechowski KT. Controlled Phonon Transport via Chemical Bond Stretching and Defect Engineering: The Case Study of Filled β-Mn-Type Phases. Inorg Chem 2024; 63:18030-18042. [PMID: 39271501 PMCID: PMC11445726 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2024] [Revised: 08/26/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Controlling the elastic properties of the material could become a powerful tool for tuning the thermal transport in solids. Nevertheless, the impact of the crystal structure, chemical bonding, and elastic properties on the lattice thermal conductivity remains to be elucidated. This is a pivotal issue for the advancement of thermoelectric (TE) materials. In this context, the influence of cation substitution in tetrahedral voids on the structural, thermal, and TE properties of α- and β-PbyGa6-xInxTe10─filled β-Mn-type phases─is reported here. The investigated materials show semiconducting behavior and a change from p- to n-type conductivity, depending on the chemical composition and temperature. Our findings indicate that the electronic transport in β-Mn-type phases is largely influenced by the substantial distortion of the Te framework, which causes the low weighted mobility and strong scattering of charge carriers. The presence of a significant anharmonicity of lattice vibrations results in the ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of PbyGa6-xInxTe10 materials. With increasing x, κL decreases from 0.59 to an extremely low value of 0.36 W m-1 K-1 at 298 K due to the decrease of bonding energy, intensification of anharmonic thermal vibrations of atoms, and formation of point defects. This work demonstrates the efficacy of utilizing the crystal structure and elastic properties to regulate phonon transport in functional materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Krakow, Mickiewicza Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Krakow, Mickiewicza Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Raul Cardoso-Gil
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Nöthnitzer Strasse 40, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - Yuri Grin
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Nöthnitzer Strasse 40, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - Krzysztof T. Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Krakow, Mickiewicza Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
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3
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Shen X, Ouyang N, Huang Y, Tung Y, Yang C, Faizan M, Perez N, He R, Sotnikov A, Willa K, Wang C, Chen Y, Guilmeau E. Amorphous-Like Ultralow Thermal Transport in Crystalline Argyrodite Cu 7PS 6. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2400258. [PMID: 38526197 PMCID: PMC11165551 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202400258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Due to their amorphous-like ultralow lattice thermal conductivity both below and above the superionic phase transition, crystalline Cu- and Ag-based superionic argyrodites have garnered widespread attention as promising thermoelectric materials. However, despite their intriguing properties, quantifying their lattice thermal conductivities and a comprehensive understanding of the microscopic dynamics that drive these extraordinary properties are still lacking. Here, an integrated experimental and theoretical approach is adopted to reveal the presence of Cu-dominated low-energy optical phonons in the Cu-based argyrodite Cu7PS6. These phonons yield strong acoustic-optical phonon scattering through avoided crossing, enabling ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. The Unified Theory of thermal transport is employed to analyze heat conduction and successfully reproduce the experimental amorphous-like ultralow lattice thermal conductivities, ranging from 0.43 to 0.58 W m-1 K-1, in the temperature range of 100-400 K. The study reveals that the amorphous-like ultralow thermal conductivity of Cu7PS6 stems from a significantly dominant wave-like conduction mechanism. Moreover, the simulations elucidate the wave-like thermal transport mainly results from the contribution of Cu-associated low-energy overlapping optical phonons. This study highlights the crucial role of low-energy and overlapping optical modes in facilitating amorphous-like ultralow thermal transport, providing a thorough understanding of the underlying complex dynamics of argyrodites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingchen Shen
- Institute for Quantum Materials and TechnologiesKarlsruhe Institute of Technology76021KarlsruheGermany
- CRISMATCNRSENSICAENUNICAENNormandie UnivCaen14000France
| | - Niuchang Ouyang
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringThe University of Hong KongPokfulam RoadHong Kong SARChina
| | - Yuling Huang
- Department of Mechanical and EnergySouthern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)Shenzhen518055China
| | - Yung‐Hsiang Tung
- Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS at Maier‐Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ)Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbHLichtenbergstraße 1D‐85747GarchingGermany
- Department of PhysicsNational Central UniversityChung‐Li DistrictTaoyuan320317Taiwan
| | - Chun‐Chuen Yang
- Department of PhysicsNational Central UniversityChung‐Li DistrictTaoyuan320317Taiwan
| | - Muhammad Faizan
- College of Materials Science and EngineeringJilin UniversityChangchun130012China
| | - Nicolas Perez
- Institute for Metallic MaterialsIFW‐Dresden01069DresdenGermany
| | - Ran He
- Institute for Metallic MaterialsIFW‐Dresden01069DresdenGermany
| | - Andrei Sotnikov
- Institute for Solid State ResearchLeibniz IFW‐Dresden01069DresdenGermany
| | - Kristin Willa
- Institute for Quantum Materials and TechnologiesKarlsruhe Institute of Technology76021KarlsruheGermany
| | - Chen Wang
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringThe University of Hong KongPokfulam RoadHong Kong SARChina
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringThe University of Hong KongPokfulam RoadHong Kong SARChina
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4
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Oueldna N, Sabi N, Aziam H, Trabadelo V, Ben Youcef H. High-entropy materials for thermoelectric applications: towards performance and reliability. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2024; 11:2323-2354. [PMID: 38700415 DOI: 10.1039/d3mh02181e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
High-entropy materials (HEMs), including alloys, ceramics and other entropy-stabilized compounds, have attracted considerable attention in different application fields. This is due to their intrinsically unique concept and properties, such as innovative chemical composition, structural characteristics, and correspondingly improved functional properties. By establishing an environment with different chemical compositions, HEMs as novel materials possessing superior attributes present unparalleled prospects when compared with their conventional counterparts. Notably, great attention has been paid to investigating HEMs such as thermoelectrics (TE), especially for application in energy-related fields. In this review, we started with the basic definitions of TE fundamentals, the existing thermoelectric materials (TEMs), and the strategies adopted for their improvement. Moreover, we introduced HEMs, summarized the core effects of high-entropy (HE), and emphasized how HE will open up new avenues for designing high-entropy thermoelectric materials (HETEMs) with promising performance and high reliability. Through selecting and analyzing recent scientific publications, this review outlines recent scientific breakthroughs and the associated challenges in the field of HEMs for TE applications. Finally, we classified the different types of HETEMs based on their structure and properties and discussed recent advances in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nouredine Oueldna
- Applied Chemistry and Engineering Research Centre of Excellence (ACER CoE), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Lot 660, Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir, 43150, Morocco.
| | - Noha Sabi
- High Throughput Multidisciplinary Research (HTMR), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Lot 660 Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir, 43150, Morocco
| | - Hasna Aziam
- High Throughput Multidisciplinary Research (HTMR), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Lot 660 Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir, 43150, Morocco
| | - Vera Trabadelo
- High Throughput Multidisciplinary Research (HTMR), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Lot 660 Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir, 43150, Morocco
| | - Hicham Ben Youcef
- Applied Chemistry and Engineering Research Centre of Excellence (ACER CoE), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Lot 660, Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir, 43150, Morocco.
- High Throughput Multidisciplinary Research (HTMR), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Lot 660 Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir, 43150, Morocco
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Parashchuk T, Cherniushok O, Smitiukh O, Marchuk O, Wojciechowski KT. Structure Evolution and Bonding Inhomogeneity toward High Thermoelectric Performance in Cu 2CoSnS 4-xSe x Materials. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS : A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 2023; 35:4772-4785. [PMID: 37396683 PMCID: PMC10311630 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c00586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Lightweight diamond-like structure (DLS) materials are excellent candidates for thermoelectric (TE) applications due to their low costs, eco-friendly nature, and property stability. The main obstacles restricting the energy-conversion performance by the lightweight DLS materials are high lattice thermal conductivity and relatively low carrier mobility. By investigating the anion substitution effect on the structural, microstructural, electronic, and thermal properties of Cu2CoSnS4-xSex, we show that the simultaneous enhancement of the crystal symmetry and bonding inhomogeneity engineering are effective approaches to enhance the TE performance in lightweight DLS materials. Particularly, the increase of x in Cu2CoSnS4-xSex makes the DLS structure with the ideal tetrahedral bond angles of 109.5° favorable, leading to better crystal symmetry and higher carrier mobility in samples with higher selenium content. In turn, the phonon transport in the investigated DLS materials is strongly disturbed due to the bonding inhomogeneity between anions and three sorts of cations inducing large lattice anharmonicity. The increase of Se content in Cu2CoSnS4-xSex only intensified this effect resulting in a lower lattice component of the thermal conductivity (κL) for Se-rich samples. As a result of the enhanced power factor S2ρ-1 and the low κL, the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT achieves a high value of 0.75 for Cu2CoSnSe4 DLS material. This work demonstrates that crystal symmetry and bonding inhomogeneity play an important role in the transport properties of DLS materials and provide a path for the development of new perspective materials for TE energy conversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Oleksandr Smitiukh
- Department
of Chemistry and Technology, Volyn National
University, Voli Ave 13, Lutsk 43025, Ukraine
| | - Oleg Marchuk
- Department
of Chemistry and Technology, Volyn National
University, Voli Ave 13, Lutsk 43025, Ukraine
| | - Krzysztof T. Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
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6
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Cherniushok O, Cardoso-Gil R, Parashchuk T, Knura R, Grin Y, Wojciechowski KT. Lone-Pair-Like Interaction and Bonding Inhomogeneity Induce Ultralow Lattice Thermal Conductivity in Filled β-Manganese-Type Phases. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS : A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 2022; 34:6389-6401. [PMID: 35937497 PMCID: PMC9344398 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c00915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Finding a way to interlink heat transport with the crystal structure and order/disorder phenomena is crucial for designing materials with ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. Here, we revisit the crystal structure and explore the thermoelectric properties of several compounds from the family of the filled β-Mn-type phases M 2/n n+Ga6Te10 (M = Pb, Sn, Ca, Na, Na + Ag). The strongly disturbed thermal transport observed in the investigated materials originates from a three-dimensional Te-Ga network with lone-pair-like interactions, which results in large variations of the Ga-Te and M-Te interatomic distances and substantial anharmonic effects. In the particular case of NaAgGa6Te10, the additional presence of different cations leads to bonding inhomogeneity and strong structural disorder, resulting in a dramatically low lattice thermal conductivity (∼0.25 Wm-1 K-1 at 298 K), being the lowest among the reported β-Mn-type phases. This study offers a way to develop materials with ultralow lattice thermal conductivity by considering bonding inhomogeneity and lone-pair-like interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Raul Cardoso-Gil
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Nöthnitzer Str. 40, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Rafal Knura
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
- Department
of Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2 Chome-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo Ward, 860-8555 Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Yuri Grin
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Nöthnitzer Str. 40, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - Krzysztof T. Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
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7
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Parashchuk T, Knura R, Cherniushok O, Wojciechowski KT. Ultralow Lattice Thermal Conductivity and Improved Thermoelectric Performance in Cl-Doped Bi 2Te 3-xSe x Alloys. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:33567-33579. [PMID: 35830414 PMCID: PMC9335406 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c08686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Bi2Te3-based alloys are the main materials for the construction of low- and medium-temperature thermoelectric modules. In this work, the microstructure and thermoelectric properties of Cl-doped Bi2Te3-xSex alloys were systematically investigated considering the high anisotropy inherent in these materials. The prepared samples have a highly oriented microstructure morphology, which results in very different thermal transport properties in two pressing directions. To accurately separate the lattice, electronic, and bipolar components of the thermal conductivity over the entire temperature range, we employed a two-band Kane model to the Cl-doped Bi2Te3-xSex alloys. It was established that Cl atoms act as electron donors, which tune the carrier concentration and effectively suppress the minority carrier transport in Bi2Te3-xSex alloys. The estimated value of the lattice thermal conductivity was found to be as low as 0.15 Wm-1 K-1 for Bi2Te3-x-ySexCly with x = 0.6 and y = 0.015 at 673 K in parallel to the pressing direction, which is among the lowest values reported for crystalline materials. The large reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity in both pressing directions for the investigated Bi2Te3-xSex alloys is connected with the different polarities of the Bi-(Te/Se)1 and Bi-(Te/Se)2 bonds, while the lone-pair (Te/Se) interactions are mainly responsible for the extremely low lattice thermal conductivity in the parallel direction. As a result of the enhanced power factor, suppressed bipolar conduction, and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity, a maximum ZT of 1.0 at 473 K has been received in the Bi2Te2.385Se0.6Cl0.015 sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
| | - Rafal Knura
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
- Department
of Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2 Chome-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
| | - Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
| | - Krzysztof T. Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
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8
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Cherniushok O, Smitiukh OV, Tobola J, Knura R, Marchuk OV, Parashchuk T, Wojciechowski KT. Crystal Structure and Thermoelectric Properties of Novel Quaternary Cu 2MHf 3S 8 (M-Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) Thiospinels with Low Thermal Conductivity. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS : A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 2022; 34:2146-2160. [PMID: 35281971 PMCID: PMC8910496 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c03593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Uncovering of the origin of intrinsically low thermal conductivity in novel crystalline solids is among the main streams in modern thermoelectricity. Because of their earth-abundant nature and environmentally friendly content, Cu-based thiospinels are attractive functional semiconductors, including thermoelectric (TE) materials. Herein, we report the crystal structure, as well as electronic and TE properties of four new Cu2MHf3S8 (M-Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) thiospinels. The performed density functional theory calculations predicted the decrease of the band gap and transition from p- to n-type conductivity in the Mn-Fe-Co-Ni series, which was confirmed experimentally. The best TE performance in this work was observed for the Cu2NiHf3S8 thiospinel due to its highest power factor and low thermal conductivity. Moreover, all the discovered compounds possess very low lattice thermal conductivity κlat over the investigated temperature range. The κlat for Cu2CoHf3S8 has been found to be as low as 0.8 W m-1 K-1 at 298 K and 0.5 W m-1 K-1 at 673 K, which are significantly lower values compared to the other Cu-based thiospinels reported up to date. The strongly disturbed phonon transport of the investigated alloys mainly comes from the peculiar crystal structure where the large cubic unit cells contain many vacant octahedral voids. As it was evaluated from the Callaway approach and confirmed by the speed of sound measurements, such a crystal structure promotes the increase in lattice anharmonicity, which is the main reason for the low κlat. This work provides a guideline for the engineering of thermal transport in thiospinels and offers the discovered Cu2MHf3S8 (M-Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) compounds, as new promising functional materials with low lattice thermal conductivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
| | - Oleksandr V. Smitiukh
- Department
of Chemistry and Technology, Volyn National
University, Voli Ave
13, Lutsk 43025, Ukraine
| | - Janusz Tobola
- Faculty
of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
| | - Rafal Knura
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
- Department
of Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2 Chome-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
| | - Oleg V. Marchuk
- Department
of Chemistry and Technology, Volyn National
University, Voli Ave
13, Lutsk 43025, Ukraine
| | - Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
| | - Krzysztof T. Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric
Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of
Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University
of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, Krakow 30-059, Poland
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9
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Zazakowny K, Kosonowski A, Lis A, Cherniushok O, Parashchuk T, Tobola J, Wojciechowski KT. Phase Analysis and Thermoelectric Properties of Cu-Rich Tetrahedrite Prepared by Solvothermal Synthesis. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 15:849. [PMID: 35160795 PMCID: PMC8836493 DOI: 10.3390/ma15030849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Because of the large Seebeck coefficient, low thermal conductivity, and earth-abundant nature of components, tetrahedrites are promising thermoelectric materials. DFT calculations reveal that the additional copper atoms in Cu-rich Cu14Sb4S13 tetrahedrite can effectively engineer the chemical potential towards high thermoelectric performance. Here, the Cu-rich tetrahedrite phase was prepared using a novel approach, which is based on the solvothermal method and piperazine serving both as solvent and reagent. As only pure elements were used for the synthesis, the offered method allows us to avoid the typically observed inorganic salt contaminations in products. Prepared in such a way, Cu14Sb4S13 tetrahedrite materials possess a very high Seebeck coefficient (above 400 μVK-1) and low thermal conductivity (below 0.3 Wm-1K-1), yielding to an excellent dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT ≈ 0.65 at 723 K. The further enhancement of the thermoelectric performance is expected after attuning the carrier concentration to the optimal value for achieving the highest possible power factor in this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Zazakowny
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; (K.Z.); (A.K.); (A.L.); (O.C.); (T.P.)
| | - Artur Kosonowski
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; (K.Z.); (A.K.); (A.L.); (O.C.); (T.P.)
| | - Adrianna Lis
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; (K.Z.); (A.K.); (A.L.); (O.C.); (T.P.)
| | - Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; (K.Z.); (A.K.); (A.L.); (O.C.); (T.P.)
| | - Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; (K.Z.); (A.K.); (A.L.); (O.C.); (T.P.)
| | - Janusz Tobola
- Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Krzysztof T. Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland; (K.Z.); (A.K.); (A.L.); (O.C.); (T.P.)
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10
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Parashchuk T, Wiendlocha B, Cherniushok O, Knura R, Wojciechowski KT. High Thermoelectric Performance of p-Type PbTe Enabled by the Synergy of Resonance Scattering and Lattice Softening. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:49027-49042. [PMID: 34632774 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c14236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we show the simultaneous enhancement of electrical transport and reduction of phonon propagation in p-type PbTe codoped with Tl and Na. The effective use of advanced electronic structure engineering improves the thermoelectric power factor S2σ over the temperature range from 300 to 825 K. A rise in the Seebeck coefficient S was obtained due to the enhanced effective mass m*, coming from the Tl resonance state in PbTe. Due to the presence of additional carriers brought by Na codoping, electrical conductivity became significantly improved. Furthermore, Tl and Na impurities induced crystal lattice softening, remarkably reducing lattice thermal conductivity, which was confirmed by a measured low speed of sound vm and high internal strain CεXRD. Eventually, the combination of both the attuned electronic structure and the lattice softening effects led to a very high ZT value of up to ∼2.1 for the Pb1-x-yTlxNayTe samples. The estimated energy conversion efficiency shows the extraordinary value of 15.4% (Tc = 300 K, Th = 825 K), due to the significantly improved average thermoelectric figure of merit ZTave = 1.05. This work demonstrates that the combination of impurity resonance scattering and crystal lattice softening can be a breakthrough concept for advancing thermoelectrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taras Parashchuk
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Bartlomiej Wiendlocha
- Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Oleksandr Cherniushok
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Rafal Knura
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
- Department of Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2 Chome-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo Ward, 860-8555 Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Krzysztof T Wojciechowski
- Thermoelectric Research Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Ave. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
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Andriyevsky B, Barchiy IE, Studenyak IP, Kashuba AI, Piasecki M. Electron, phonon and thermoelectric properties of Cu 7PS 6 crystal calculated at DFT level. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19065. [PMID: 34561499 PMCID: PMC8463705 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98515-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The promising class of the environment-friendly thermoelectrics is the copper-based argyrodite-type ion-conducting crystals exhibiting just extraordinary low thermal conductivity below the glass limit associated with the molten copper sublattice leading to a softening of phonon modes. To explain why the argyrodite structure containing copper ions favors the low thermal conductivity, we have utilized the ab initio calculations of the electron, phonon, and thermoelectric properties of Cu7PS6 crystal in the framework of the density functional and Boltzmann transport theories. To obtain the reliable thermoelectric properties of Cu7PS6, we take into account the dependence of the electron effective mass m* on the redundant carrier concentration n. We propose to use the Burstein–Moss effect for the calculation of the electron effective mass m* of a semiconductor. We have found the strong nonlinear character of copper atom vibrations in Cu7PS6 which exceeds substantially the similar values for phosphorous and sulfur atoms. The large vibration nonlinearity of the copper atoms found in Cu7PS6 explains the diffusion-like heat transfer and the relatively low coefficient of the lattice thermal conductivity (κ = 0.7 W/(m K)), which is favorable to achieve the large thermoelectric figure of merit.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Andriyevsky
- Faculty of Electronics and Computer Sciences, Koszalin University of Technology, Śniadeckich str. 2, 75453, Koszalin, Poland.
| | - I E Barchiy
- Inorganic Chemistry Department, Uzhhorod National University, Pidhirna str. 46, Uzhhorod, 88000, Ukraine
| | - I P Studenyak
- Inorganic Chemistry Department, Uzhhorod National University, Pidhirna str. 46, Uzhhorod, 88000, Ukraine
| | - A I Kashuba
- Department of General Physics, Lviv Polytechnic National University, Bandera str. 12, Lviv, 79013, Ukraine
| | - M Piasecki
- Institute of Physics, Jan Dlugosz University of Częstochowa, Armii Krajowej str. 13/15, Czestochowa, Poland.
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