Published September 13, 2022 | Version v1

Engineering Transport Properties in Interconnected Enargite-Stannite Type Cu2+xMn1−xGeS4 Nanocomposites

Description

Understanding the mechanism that connects heat and electron transport with crystal structures and defect chemistry is fundamental to develop materials with thermoelectric properties. In this work, we synthesized a series of self-doped compounds Cu2+xMn1-xGeS4 through Cu for Mn substitution. Using a combination of powder X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and precession-assisted electron diffraction tomography, we evidence that the materials are composed of interconnected enargite- and stannite-type structures, via the formation of nanodomains with a high density of coherent interfaces. By combining experiments with ab-initio electron and phonon calculations, we discuss the structure–thermoelectric properties relationships and clarify the interesting crystal chemistry in this system. We demonstrate that excess Cu+ substituted for Mn2+ dope holes into the top of the valence band, leading to a remarkable enhancement of the power factor and figure of merit ZT.

Files

Angew Chem Int Ed - 2022 - Pavan Kumar - Engineering Transport Properties in Interconnected Enargite‐Stannite Type Cu2 xMn1.pdf

Additional details

Identifiers

Funding

Agence Nationale de la Recherche
EMC3 - Energy Materials and Clean Combustion Center ANR-10-LABX-0009
European Commission
NanED - Electron Nanocrystallography 956099