Insight into the intrinsic microstructures of polycrystalline SnSe based compounds

SnSe based compounds have attracted much attention due to the ultra-low lattice thermal conductivity and excellent thermoelectric properties. The origin of the low thermal conductivity has been ascribed to the strong phonon anharmonicity. Generally, the microstructures are also effective in scattering the phonons and further reducing the lattice thermal conductivity. In this work, the microstructures of undoped SnSe and Bi-doped Sn_0.97SeBi_0.03 have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. A characteristic microstructure of lath-like grains has been observed in SnSe based compounds from perpendicular to the pressure direction. In addition, there exist a large quantity of low-angle grain boundaries and a high concentration of edge dislocations and stacking faults in the grains. All these microstructures result in lattice mismatch and distortion and can act as the phonon scattering centers, which broaden the understanding of the low thermal conductivity of SnSe based compounds.