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Vacancy-mediated anomalous phononic and electronic transport in defective half-Heusler ZrNiBi

Author

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  • Wuyang Ren

    (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
    Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH))

  • Wenhua Xue

    (Chinese Academy of Science)

  • Shuping Guo

    (Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research)

  • Ran He

    (Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research)

  • Liangzi Deng

    (Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH))

  • Shaowei Song

    (Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH))

  • Andrei Sotnikov

    (Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research)

  • Kornelius Nielsch

    (Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research)

  • Jeroen Brink

    (Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research)

  • Guanhui Gao

    (Rice University)

  • Shuo Chen

    (Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH))

  • Yimo Han

    (Rice University)

  • Jiang Wu

    (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China)

  • Ching-Wu Chu

    (Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH))

  • Zhiming Wang

    (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China)

  • Yumei Wang

    (Chinese Academy of Science)

  • Zhifeng Ren

    (Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH))

Abstract

Studies of vacancy-mediated anomalous transport properties have flourished in diverse fields since these properties endow solid materials with fascinating photoelectric, ferroelectric, and spin-electric behaviors. Although phononic and electronic transport underpin the physical origin of thermoelectrics, vacancy has only played a stereotyped role as a scattering center. Here we reveal the multifunctionality of vacancy in tailoring the transport properties of an emerging thermoelectric material, defective n-type ZrNiBi. The phonon kinetic process is mediated in both propagating velocity and relaxation time: vacancy-induced local soft bonds lower the phonon velocity while acoustic-optical phonon coupling, anisotropic vibrations, and point-defect scattering induced by vacancy shorten the relaxation time. Consequently, defective ZrNiBi exhibits the lowest lattice thermal conductivity among the half-Heusler family. In addition, a vacancy-induced flat band features prominently in its electronic band structure, which is not only desirable for electron-sufficient thermoelectric materials but also interesting for driving other novel physical phenomena. Finally, better thermoelectric performance is established in a ZrNiBi-based compound. Our findings not only demonstrate a promising thermoelectric material but also promote the fascinating vacancy-mediated anomalous transport properties for multidisciplinary explorations.

Suggested Citation

  • Wuyang Ren & Wenhua Xue & Shuping Guo & Ran He & Liangzi Deng & Shaowei Song & Andrei Sotnikov & Kornelius Nielsch & Jeroen Brink & Guanhui Gao & Shuo Chen & Yimo Han & Jiang Wu & Ching-Wu Chu & Zhimi, 2023. "Vacancy-mediated anomalous phononic and electronic transport in defective half-Heusler ZrNiBi," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-40492-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40492-7
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    1. Jinfeng Zhu & Qingyong Ren & Chen Chen & Chen Wang & Mingfang Shu & Miao He & Cuiping Zhang & Manh Duc Le & Shuki Torri & Chin-Wei Wang & Jianli Wang & Zhenxiang Cheng & Lisi Li & Guohua Wang & Yuxuan, 2024. "Vacancies tailoring lattice anharmonicity of Zintl-type thermoelectrics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.

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