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The ternary phase, Yb14CdSb11, has been synthesized by flux and polycrystalline methods. The crystal structure is determined via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, revealing that it crystallizes in the Ca14AlSb11 structure type (I41/acd space group with unit cell parameters of a = 16.5962(2) & Aring; and c = 22.1346(5) & Aring;, 90 K, Z = 8, R1 = 2.65%, and wR2 = 4.58%). The polycrystalline form of the compound is synthesized from a stoichiometric reaction of Yb4Sb3, CdSb, Yb, and Sb. The elemental composition is confirmed using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and phase purity is verified by powder X-ray diffraction. Thermoelectric measurements, including resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, Hall carrier concentration, and Hall mobility, are conducted from 300 to 1273 K. Yb14CdSb11 exhibits a peak zT = 0.90 at 1200 K. Carrier concentration and Hall mobility range from 6.99 x 1020-1.01 x 1021 cm-3 and 4.45-9.35 x 10-1 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively. This carrier concentration is lower than that reported for the Zn or Mn analogs leading to a lower thermoelectric figure of merit at high temperatures. However, with appropriate doping, this phase should also be a promising p-type candidate for high-temperature energy conversion applications. 

Abstract Unconventional superconductors have Cooper pairs with lower symmetries than in conventional superconductors. In most unconventional superconductors, the additional symmetry breaking occurs in relation to typical ingredients such as strongly correlated Fermi liquid phases, magnetic fluctuations, or strong spin-orbit coupling in noncentrosymmetric structures. In this article, we show that the time-reversal symmetry breaking in the superconductor LaNiGa 2 is enabled by its previously unknown topological electronic band structure, with Dirac lines and a Dirac loop at the Fermi level. Two symmetry related Dirac points even remain degenerate under spin-orbit coupling. These unique topological features enable an unconventional superconducting gap in which time-reversal symmetry can be broken in the absence of other typical ingredients. Our findings provide a route to identify a new type of unconventional superconductors based on nonsymmorphic symmetries and will enable future discoveries of topological crystalline superconductors. 

FeAs 2−x Se x ( x = 0.30–1.0) samples were synthesized as phase pure powders by conventional solid-state techniques and as single crystals ( x = 0.50) from chemical vapor transport. The composition of the crystals was determined to be Fe 1.025(3) As 1.55(3) Se 0.42(3) , crystallizing in the marcasite structure type, Pnnm space group. FeAs 2−x Se x (0 < x < 1) was found to undergo a marcasite-to-arsenopyrite ( P 2 1 / c space group) structural phase transition at x ∼ 0.65. The structures are similar, with the marcasite structure best described as a solid solution of As/Se, whereas the arsenopyrite has ordered anion sites. Magnetic susceptibility and thermoelectric property measurements from 300–2 K were performed on single crystals, FeAs 1.50 Se 0.50 . Paramagnetic behavior is observed from 300 to 17 K and a Seebeck coefficient of −33 μV K −1 , an electrical resistivity of 4.07 mΩ cm, and a very low κ l of 0.22 W m −1 K −1 at 300 K are observed. In order to determine the impact of the structural transition on the high-temperature thermoelectric properties, polycrystalline FeAs 2−x Se x ( x = 0.30, 0.75, 0.85, 1.0) samples were consolidated into dense pellets for measurements of thermoelectric properties. The x = 0.85 sample shows the best thermoelectric performance. The electronic structure of FeAsSe was calculated with DFT and transport properties were approximately modeled above 500 K.