Thermal expansion and rattling behavior of Gd-filled Co_(4)Sb_(12) skutterudite determined by high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction

In this work, Gd-filled skutterudite Gd_(x)Co_(4)Sb_(12) was prepared using one step method under high pressure in a piston-cylinder-based press at 3.5 GPa and moderate temperature of 800 degrees C. A detailed structural characterization was performed using synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD), reve...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rodrigues, Joao Elias F. S., Gainza, Javier, Serrano Sánchez, Federico, Silva, Romualdo S., Dejoie, Catherine, Nemes, Norbert Marcel, Dura, Óscar J., Martínez, José Luis, Alonso, José Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/73236
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73236
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:538.9
Enhanced thermoelectric performance
Conductivity reduction
Crystal-structure
Pressure
Convergence
Power
La
skutterudites
CoSb_(3)
Thermal expansion
Rattling effect
Thermoelectrics
Física de materiales
Física del estado sólido
2211 Física del Estado Sólido
Descripción
Sumario:In this work, Gd-filled skutterudite Gd_(x)Co_(4)Sb_(12) was prepared using one step method under high pressure in a piston-cylinder-based press at 3.5 GPa and moderate temperature of 800 degrees C. A detailed structural characterization was performed using synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD), revealing a filling fraction of x = 0.033(2) and an average bond length of 3.3499(3) angstrom. The lattice thermal expansion accessed via temperature-dependent SXRD led to a precise determination of a Debye temperature of 322(3) K, from the fitting of the unit-cell volume expansion using the second order Gruneisen approximation. This parameter, when evaluated through the mean square displacements of Co and Sb, displayed a value of 265(2) K, meaning that the application of the harmonic Debye theory underestimates the Debye temperature in skutterudites. Regarding the Gd atom, its intrinsic disorder value was similar to 5x and similar to 25x higher than those of the Co and Sb, respectively, denoting that Gd has a strong rattling behavior with an Einstein temperature of theta(E) = 67(2) K. As a result, an ultra-low thermal conductivity of 0.89 W/m center dot K at 773 K was obtained, leading to a thermoelectric efficiency zT of 0.5 at 673 K.