Zintl-phase Eu 2 ZnSb 2: A promising thermoelectric material with ultralow thermal conductivity

  • Chen Chen
  • , Wenhua Xue
  • , Shan Li
  • , Zongwei Zhang
  • , Xiaofang Li
  • , Xinyu Wang
  • , Yijie Liu
  • , Jiehe Sui
  • , Xingjun Liu
  • , Feng Cao
  • , Zhifeng Ren
  • , Ching Wu Chu
  • , Yumei Wang
  • , Qian Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

140 Scopus citations

Abstract

Zintl compounds are considered to be potential thermoelectric materials due to their “phonon glass electron crystal” (PGEC) structure. A promising Zintl-phase thermoelectric material, 2-1-2–type Eu 2 ZnSb 2 (P6 3 /mmc), was prepared and investigated. The extremely low lattice thermal conductivity is attributed to the external Eu atomic layers inserted in the [Zn 2 Sb 2 ] 2- network in the structure of 1-2-2–type EuZn 2 Sb 2 (P3m1), as well as the abundant inversion domain boundary. By regulating the Zn deficiency, the electrical properties are significantly enhanced, and the maximum ZT value reaches ∼1.0 at 823 K for Eu 2 Zn 0.98 Sb 2 . Our discovery provides a class of Zintl thermoelectric materials applicable in the medium-temperature range.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2831-2836
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume116
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 19 Feb 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Eu ZnSb
  • Low thermal conductivity
  • Thermoelectric properties
  • Zintl phase

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