Discordant nature of Cd in PbSe: off-centering and core-shell nanoscale CdSe precipitates lead to high thermoelectric performance

• Published in: Energy & environmental science Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 2 - 211
• Main Authors: Cai, Songting, Hao, Shiqiang, Luo, Zhong-Zhen, Li, Xiang, Hadar, Ido, Bailey, Trevor P, Hu, Xiaobing, Uher, Ctirad, Hu, Yan-Yan, Wolverton, Christopher, Dravid, Vinayak P, Kanatzidis, Mercouri G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 01.01.2020; Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
• Subjects: Architecture; Atomic properties; Atomic structure; Cadmium; Carrier density; Chemical precipitation; Core-shell structure; Crystal structure; Electron mobility; Halites; Hall effect; Heat conductivity; Heat transfer; Lead selenides; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Mathematical analysis; Microstructure; NMR; NMR spectroscopy; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Photoelectric emission; Power factor; Precipitates; Room temperature; Seebeck effect; Spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis; Thermal conductivity; Thermoelectricity; Zincblende

We report a novel hierarchical microstructure in the PbSe-CdSe system, which collectively contributes to significant enhancement in thermoelectric performance, with ZT ave ∼ 0.83 across the 400-923 K temperature range, the highest reported for p-type, Te-free PbSe systems. We have investigated the l...