Thermoelectric compound shows future promise

Jian He, a researcher at Clemson University, South Carolina and colleagues from China and Denmark created the new hybrid compound in which the crystalline and amorphous sublattices are intertwined into a one-of-a-kind crystal-amorphic duality.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM MATERIALS

"Our material is a unique hybrid atomic structure with half being crystalline and half amorphous," said He, an associate professor in the College of Science's Department of Physics and Astronomy. "If you have a unique or peculiar atomic structure, you would expect to see very unusual properties because properties follow structure."

The team’s findings have been published online in Joule.

According to Clemson, the researchers created their hybrid material by mixing elements in the same group on the periodic table but with different atomic sizes. For their research, the team used the atomic size mismatches between sulphur and tellurium and between copper and silver to create a new compound (Cu1-xAgx)2(Te1-ySy) in which the crystalline and amorphous sublattices intertwine into a one-of-a-kind crystal-amorphicity duality. The new compound is said to have exhibited excellent thermoelectric performance.