Chain-forming Zintl Antimonides as Novel Thermoelectric Materials

Download or read book Chain-forming Zintl Antimonides as Novel Thermoelectric Materials written by Alexandra Zevalkink and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zintl phases, a subset of intermetallic compounds characterized by covalently-bonded "sub-structures," surrounded by highly electropositive cations, exhibit precisely the characteristics desired for thermoelectric applications. The requirement that Zintl compounds satisfy the valence of anions through the formation of covalent substructures leads to many unique, complex crystal structures. Such complexity often leads to exceptionally low lattice thermal conductivity due to the containment of heat in low velocity optical modes in the phonon dispersion. To date, excellent thermoelectric properties have been demonstrated in several Zintl compounds. However, compared with the large number of known Zintl phases, very few have been investigated as thermoelectric materials.