Interlaced crystals having a perfect Bravais lattice and complex chemical order revealed by real-space crystallography
- Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
The search for optimal thermoelectric materials aims for structures in which the crystalline order is disrupted to lower the thermal conductivity without degradation of the electron conductivity. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of ternary nanoparticles (two cations and one anion) that exhibit a new form of crystal-line order: an uninterrupted, perfect, global Bravais lattice, in which the two cations exhibit a wide array of distinct ordering patterns within the cation sublattice, form-ing interlaced domains and phases. Partitioning into domains and phases is not unique; the corresponding boundaries have no structural defects or strain and entail no energy cost. We call this form of crystalline order “interlaced crystals” and present the example of hexagonal-CuInS2. Interlacing is possible in multi-cation tetrahedral-ly-bonded compound with an average of two electrons per bond. Interlacing has min-imal effect on electronic properties, but should strongly reduce phonon transport, making interlaced crystals attractive for thermoelectric applications.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1185381
- Journal Information:
- Nature Communications, Vol. 5; ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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