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Title: Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors

Abstract

Many superionic mixed ionic–electronic conductors with a liquid-like sublattice have been identified as high efficiency thermoelectric materials, but their applications are limited due to the possibility of decomposition when subjected to high electronic currents and large temperature gradients. Here, through systematically investigating electromigration in copper sulfide/selenide thermoelectric materials, we reveal the mechanism for atom migration and deposition based on a critical chemical potential difference. Then, a strategy for stable use is proposed: constructing a series of electronically conducting, but ion-blocking barriers to reset the chemical potential of such conductors to keep it below the threshold for decomposition, even if it is used with high electric currents and/or large temperature differences. This strategy not only opens the possibility of using such conductors in thermoelectric applications, but may also provide approaches to engineer perovskite photovoltaic materials and the experimental methods may be applicable to understanding dendrite growth in lithium ion batteries.

Authors:
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [2]; ORCiD logo [6];  [6];  [7];  [1];  [1];  [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai (China)
  2. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
  3. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai (China); Univ. of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China)
  4. Shanghai Univ., Shanghai (China)
  5. South Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen (China)
  6. Justus-Liebig-Univ. Giessen, Giessen (Germany)
  7. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1511492
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0001299
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Citation Formats

Qiu, Pengfei, Agne, Matthias T., Liu, Yongying, Zhu, Yaqin, Chen, Hongyi, Mao, Tao, Yang, Jiong, Zhang, Wenqing, Haile, Sossina M., Zeier, Wolfgang G., Janek, Jürgen, Uher, Ctirad, Shi, Xun, Chen, Lidong, and Snyder, G. Jeffrey. Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05248-8.
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Qiu, Pengfei, Agne, Matthias T., Liu, Yongying, Zhu, Yaqin, Chen, Hongyi, Mao, Tao, Yang, Jiong, Zhang, Wenqing, Haile, Sossina M., Zeier, Wolfgang G., Janek, Jürgen, Uher, Ctirad, Shi, Xun, Chen, Lidong, & Snyder, G. Jeffrey. Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors. United States. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05248-8.
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Qiu, Pengfei, Agne, Matthias T., Liu, Yongying, Zhu, Yaqin, Chen, Hongyi, Mao, Tao, Yang, Jiong, Zhang, Wenqing, Haile, Sossina M., Zeier, Wolfgang G., Janek, Jürgen, Uher, Ctirad, Shi, Xun, Chen, Lidong, and Snyder, G. Jeffrey. Wed . "Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors". United States. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05248-8. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1511492.
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@article{osti_1511492,
title = {Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors},
author = {Qiu, Pengfei and Agne, Matthias T. and Liu, Yongying and Zhu, Yaqin and Chen, Hongyi and Mao, Tao and Yang, Jiong and Zhang, Wenqing and Haile, Sossina M. and Zeier, Wolfgang G. and Janek, Jürgen and Uher, Ctirad and Shi, Xun and Chen, Lidong and Snyder, G. Jeffrey},
abstractNote = {Many superionic mixed ionic–electronic conductors with a liquid-like sublattice have been identified as high efficiency thermoelectric materials, but their applications are limited due to the possibility of decomposition when subjected to high electronic currents and large temperature gradients. Here, through systematically investigating electromigration in copper sulfide/selenide thermoelectric materials, we reveal the mechanism for atom migration and deposition based on a critical chemical potential difference. Then, a strategy for stable use is proposed: constructing a series of electronically conducting, but ion-blocking barriers to reset the chemical potential of such conductors to keep it below the threshold for decomposition, even if it is used with high electric currents and/or large temperature differences. This strategy not only opens the possibility of using such conductors in thermoelectric applications, but may also provide approaches to engineer perovskite photovoltaic materials and the experimental methods may be applicable to understanding dendrite growth in lithium ion batteries.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-05248-8},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {7}
}
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DOI:  10.1038/s41467-018-05248-8
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