Avoided Crossing Phonons Realizes High-Performance Single-Crystalline β-Zn₄Sb₃ Thermoelectrics.

ABSTRACT: This study reveals the mechanisms behind the ultralow lattice thermal conductivity κ_L in β-Zn₄Sb₃ single crystals through inelastic neutron scattering (INS). Analyzing phonon behaviors and the interaction between acoustic phonons and rattling modes, the first experimental evidence of avoided crossing in β-Zn₄Sb₃ is provided. The rattler-phonon avoided crossings contribute to the low κ_L in a β-Zn₄Sb₃ single crystal, enhancing the thermoelectric figure-of-merit (zT). TEM characterizations of the β-Zn₄Sb₃ single crystal with intrinsic and ultralow κ_L reveal a grain-boundary-free structure with uniformly dispersed rotation moiré fringes that contribute to low lattice thermal

SUBMITTER: Jen IL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11791943 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature