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Article
Transport properties of polycrystalline type-I Sn clathrates
Physical Review B (2002)
  • G. S. Nolas
  • J. L. Cohn
  • Jeffrey Dyck, John Carroll University
  • C. Uher
  • J. Lang
Abstract

Thermal conductivity, resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and Hall measurements on polycrystalline Sn-clathrate compounds with the type-I hydrate crystal structure are reported. Interstitial alkali-metal atoms in these compounds reside inside polyhedral cavities formed by the tetrahedrally bonded Sn network atoms. Localized disorder associated with “rattling” motion of these interstitial atoms contributes to the low thermal conductivity of these semiconducting compounds. The Hall coefficient and resistivity for some compounds exhibit nonmonotonic temperature dependences consistent with a crossover with decreasing temperature from conduction-band to impurity-band conduction. The carrier mobility is found to be low even in the absence of interstitial atoms within the Sn framework, suggesting a large effective mass and/or scattering rate. We discuss the properties in the context of potential thermoelectric applications.

Publication Date
April 15, 2002
Publisher Statement
G.S. Nolas, J.L. Cohn, J.S. Dyck, C. Uher, and J. Lang "Transport properties of polycrystalline type-I Sn clathrates" 65:16 (2002): 165201-165201-6. ©2002 American Physical Society DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.65.165201
Citation Information
G. S. Nolas, J. L. Cohn, Jeffrey Dyck, C. Uher, et al.. "Transport properties of polycrystalline type-I Sn clathrates" Physical Review B Vol. 65 Iss. 16 (2002)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeffrey_dyck/44/