Unusual electronic and vibrational properties in the colossal thermopower material FeSb2
Abstract
Abstract The iron antimonide FeSb 2 possesses an extraordinarily high thermoelectric power factor at low temperature, making it a leading candidate for cryogenic thermoelectric cooling devices. However, the origin of this unusual behavior is controversial, having been variously attributed to electronic correlations as well as the phonon-drag effect. The optical properties of a material provide information on both the electronic and vibrational properties. The optical conductivity reveals an anisotropic response at room temperature; the low-frequency optical conductivity decreases rapidly with temperature, signalling a metal-insulator transition. One-dimensional semiconducting behavior is observed along the b axis at low temperature, in agreement with first-principle calculations. The infrared-active lattice vibrations are also symmetric and extremely narrow, indicating long phonon relaxation times and a lack of electron-phonon coupling. Surprisingly, there are more lattice modes along the a axis than are predicted from group theory; several of these modes undergo significant changes below about 100 K, hinting at a weak structural distortion or phase transition. While the extremely narrow phonon line shapes favor the phonon-drag effect, the one-dimensional behavior of this system at low temperature may also contribute to the extraordinarily high thermopower observed in this material.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1462129
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1462421
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-207909-2018-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322; 11692; PII: 29909
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012704
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Reports
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Volume: 8 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
Citation Formats
Homes, C. C., Du, Q., Petrovic, C., Brito, W. H., Choi, S., and Kotliar, G. Unusual electronic and vibrational properties in the colossal thermopower material FeSb2. United Kingdom: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-29909-2.
Homes, C. C., Du, Q., Petrovic, C., Brito, W. H., Choi, S., & Kotliar, G. Unusual electronic and vibrational properties in the colossal thermopower material FeSb2. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29909-2
Homes, C. C., Du, Q., Petrovic, C., Brito, W. H., Choi, S., and Kotliar, G. Fri .
"Unusual electronic and vibrational properties in the colossal thermopower material FeSb2". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29909-2.
@article{osti_1462129,
title = {Unusual electronic and vibrational properties in the colossal thermopower material FeSb2},
author = {Homes, C. C. and Du, Q. and Petrovic, C. and Brito, W. H. and Choi, S. and Kotliar, G.},
abstractNote = {Abstract The iron antimonide FeSb 2 possesses an extraordinarily high thermoelectric power factor at low temperature, making it a leading candidate for cryogenic thermoelectric cooling devices. However, the origin of this unusual behavior is controversial, having been variously attributed to electronic correlations as well as the phonon-drag effect. The optical properties of a material provide information on both the electronic and vibrational properties. The optical conductivity reveals an anisotropic response at room temperature; the low-frequency optical conductivity decreases rapidly with temperature, signalling a metal-insulator transition. One-dimensional semiconducting behavior is observed along the b axis at low temperature, in agreement with first-principle calculations. The infrared-active lattice vibrations are also symmetric and extremely narrow, indicating long phonon relaxation times and a lack of electron-phonon coupling. Surprisingly, there are more lattice modes along the a axis than are predicted from group theory; several of these modes undergo significant changes below about 100 K, hinting at a weak structural distortion or phase transition. While the extremely narrow phonon line shapes favor the phonon-drag effect, the one-dimensional behavior of this system at low temperature may also contribute to the extraordinarily high thermopower observed in this material.},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-29909-2},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
number = 1,
volume = 8,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Fri Aug 03 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Fri Aug 03 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29909-2
Web of Science
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