skip to main content
Explore Scholarly Publications and Datasets in the NSF-PAR

  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Accepted Manuscript: Chemically driven superstructural ordering leading to giant unit cells in unconventional clathrates Cs 8 Zn 18 Sb 28 and Cs 8 Cd 18 Sb 28
Title: Chemically driven superstructural ordering leading to giant unit cells in unconventional clathrates Cs 8 Zn 18 Sb 28 and Cs 8 Cd 18 Sb 28
The unconventional clathrates, Cs 8 Zn 18 Sb 28 and Cs 8 Cd 18 Sb 28 , were synthesized and reinvestigated. These clathrates exhibit unique and extensive superstructural ordering of the clathrate-I structure that was not initially reported. Cs 8 Cd 18 Sb 28 orders in the Ia 3̄ d space group (no. 230) with 8 times larger volume of the unit cell in which most framework atoms segregate into distinct Cd and Sb sites. The structure of Cs 8 Zn 18 Sb 28 is much more complicated, with an 18-fold increase of unit cell volume accompanied by significant reduction of symmetry down to P 2 (no. 3) monoclinic space group. This structure was revealed by a combination of synchrotron X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques. A full solid solution, Cs 8 Zn 18−x Cd x Sb 28 , was also synthesized and characterized. These compounds follow Vegard's law in regard to their primitive unit cell sizes and melting points. Variable temperature in situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction was used to study the formation and melting of Cs 8 Zn 18 Sb 28 . Due to the heavy elements comprising clathrate framework and the complex structural ordering, the synthesized clathrates more » exhibit ultralow thermal conductivities, all under 0.8 W m −1 K −1 at room temperature. Cs 8 Zn 9 Cd 9 Sb 28 and Cs 8 Zn 4.5 Cd 13.5 Sb 28 both have total thermal conductivities of 0.49 W m −1 K −1 at room temperature, among the lowest reported for any clathrate. Cs 8 Zn 18 Sb 28 has typical p-type semiconducting charge transport properties, while the remaining clathrates show unusual n–p transitions or sharp increases of thermopower at low temperatures. Estimations of the bandgaps as activation energy for resistivity dependences show an anomalous widening and then shrinking of the bandgap with increasing Cd-content. « less
Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Award ID(s):
1834750
Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10215047
Journal Name:
Chemical Science
Volume:
11
Issue:
37
Page Range or eLocation-ID:
10255 to 10264
ISSN:
2041-6520
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ( , Materials Advances)
    Thermoelectric materials can convert heat into electricity. They are used to generate electricity when other power sources are not available or to increase energy efficiency by recycling waste heat. The Yb 21 Mn 4 Sb 18 phase was previously shown to have good thermoelectric performance due to its large Seebeck coefficient (∼290 μV K −1 ) and low thermal conductivity (0.4 W m −1 K −1 ). These characteristics stem respectively from the unique [Mn 4 Sb 10 ] 22− subunit and the large unit cell/site disorder inherent in this phase. The solid solutions, Yb 21 Mn 4− x Cd x Sb 18 ( x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5) and Yb 21− y Ca y Mn 4 Sb 18 ( y = 3, 6, 9, 10.5) have been prepared, their structures characterized and thermoelectric properties from room temperature to 800 K measured. A detailed look into the structural disorder for the Cd and Ca solid solutions was performed using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function methods and shows that these are highly disordered structures. The substitution of Cd gives rise to more metallic behavior whereas Ca substitution results in high resistivity. As both Cd and Ca aremore »isoelectronic substitutions, the changes in properties are attributed to changes in the electronic structure. Both solid solutions show that the thermal conductivities remain extremely low (∼0.4 W m −1 K −1 ) and that the Seebeck coefficients remain high (>200 μV K −1 ). The temperature dependence of the carrier mobility with increased Ca substitution, changing from approximately T −1 to T −0.5 , suggests that another scattering mechanism is being introduced. As the bonding changes from polar covalent with Yb to ionic for Ca, polar optical phonon scattering becomes the dominant mechanism. Experimental studies of the Cd solid solutions result in a max zT of ∼1 at 800 K and, more importantly for application purposes, a ZT avg ∼ 0.6 from 300 K to 800 K.« less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ( , Journal of Materials Chemistry C)
    In this paper, the photoluminescent properties of a lead-free double perovskite Cs 2 NaInCl 6 doped with Sb 3+ are explored. The host crystal structure is a cubic double perovskite with Fm 3̄ m symmetry, a = 10.53344(4) Å, and rock salt ordering of Na + and In 3+ . It is a wide bandgap compound ( E g ≈ 5.1 eV), and substitution with Sb 3+ leads to strong absorption in the UV due to localized 5s 2 → 5s 1 5p 1 transitions on Sb 3+ centers. Radiative relaxation back to the 5s 2 ground state, via a 3 P 1 → 1 S 0 transition, leads to intense blue luminescence, centered at 445 nm, with a photoluminescent quantum yield of 79%. The Stokes shift of 0.94 eV is roughly 33% smaller than it is in the related vacancy ordered double perovskite Cs 2 SnCl 6 . The reduction in Stokes shift is likely due to a change in coordination number of Sb 3+ from 6-coordinate in Cs 2 NaInCl 6 to 5-coordinate in Cs 2 SnCl 6 . In addition to the high quantum yield, Cs 2 NaInCl 6 :Sb 3+ exhibits excellent air/moisture stability and canmore »be prepared from solution; these characteristics make it a promising blue phosphor for applications involving near-UV excitation.« less
  3. ; ; ; ( , Journal of The Electrochemical Society)

    Clathrates of Tetrel elements (Si, Ge, Sn) have attracted interest for their potential use in batteries and other applications. Sodium-filled silicon clathrates are conventionally synthesized through thermal decomposition of the Zintl precursor Na4Si4, but phase selectivity of the product is often difficult to achieve. Herein, we report the selective formation of the type I clathrate Na8Si46using electrochemical oxidation at 450 °C and 550 °C. A two-electrode cell design inspired by high-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries is employed, using Na4Si4as working electrode, Naβ″-alumina solid electrolyte, and counter electrode consisting of molten Na or Sn. Galvanostatic intermittent titration is implemented to observe the oxidation characteristics and reveals a relatively constant cell potential under quasi-equilibrium conditions, indicating a two-phase reaction between Na4Si4and Na8Si46. We further demonstrate that the product selection and morphology can be altered by tuning the reaction temperature and Na vapor pressure. Room temperature lithiation of the synthesized Na8Si46is evaluated for the first time, showing similar electrochemical characteristics to those in the type II clathrate Na24Si136. The results show that solid-state electrochemical oxidation of Zintl phases at high temperatures can lead to opportunities for more controlled crystal growth and a deeper understanding of the formation processes of intermetallic clathrates.

  4. ; ; ; ; ; ( , Journal of Applied Physics)
    Clathrates have been reported to form in a variety of different structure types; however, inorganic clathrate-I materials with a low-cation concentration have yet to be investigated. Furthermore, tin-based compositions have been much less investigated as compared to silicon or germanium analogs. We report the temperature-dependent structural and thermal properties of single-crystal Eu 2 Ga 11 Sn 35 revealing the effect of structure and composition on the thermal properties of this low-cation clathrate-I material. Specifically, low-temperature heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and synchrotron single-crystal x-ray diffraction reveal a departure from Debye-like behavior, a glass-like phonon mean-free path for this crystalline material, and a relatively large Grüneisen parameter due to the dominance of low-frequency Einstein modes. Our analyses indicate thermal properties that are a direct result of the structure and composition of this clathrate-I material.
  5. ; ; ; ( , Dalton Transactions)
    A series of new Ce( iv ) based fluorides with two different compositions, Cs 2 MCe 3 F 16 (M = Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Zn 2+ ) and Na 3 MCe 6 F 30 (M = Al 3+ , Ga 3+ , Fe 3+ , and Cr 3+ ) were synthesized as high quality single crystals via a mild hydrothermal route. The compounds with the composition Cs 2 MCe 3 F 16 (M = Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Zn 2+ ) crystallize in the hexagonal crystal system with space group P 6 3 / mmc and are isotypic with the uranium analogs, whereas the Na 3 MCe 6 F 30 (M = Al 3+ , Ga 3+ , Fe 3+ , and Cr 3+ ) compounds crystallize in the trigonal space group P 3̄ c 1 and are isotypic with the uranium and thorium analogs Na x MM′ 6 F 30 (M′ = Th, U). The Cs 2 MCe 3 F 16 compounds exhibit a complex 3D crystal structure constructed of edge-sharing cerium trimers, in which all three Ce atoms share a common μ 3 -F unit.more »The Na 3 MCe 6 F 30 compounds are constructed of edge- and vertex-sharing cerium polyhedra connected to each other to form Ce 6 F 30 6− framework, which can accommodate only relatively smaller trivalent cations (M 3+ = Al 3+ , Ga 3+ , Fe 3+ , and Cr 3+ ) as compared to uranium and thorium analogs. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were carried out on the samples of Cs 2 MCe 3 F 16 (M = Ni 2+ and Co 2+ ), which exhibit paramagnetic behavior.« less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email