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Published June 2009 | public
Journal Article

Nanoscale inclusions in the phonon glass thermoelectric material Zn_4Sb_3

Abstract

We have investigated the thermoelectric material Zn_4Sb_3 using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nanoscale inclusions with a diameter of about 10 nm were observed, constituting on the order of 1% by volume of the material. Studies using energy filtered imaging, electron diffraction, and high-angle annular dark-field STEM indicate that the inclusions consist of Zn. These inclusions are expected to scatter the medium and long-wavelength phonons effectively, thus contributing to phonon glass behavior which results in the exceptionally low thermal conductivity for this thermoelectric material.

Additional Information

© 2009 Taylor & Francis. Received 13 January 2009; final version received 5 April 2009. The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the Norwegian Research Council and the Caltech MURI program. We would also like to thank Douglas Medlin for discussions.

Additional details

Created:
August 21, 2023
Modified:
October 19, 2023