Azough, F, Jackson, SS, Ekren, D et al. (8 more authors) (2017) Concurrent La and A-Site Vacancy Doping Modulates the Thermoelectric Response of SrTiO3: Experimental and Computational Evidence. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 9 (48). pp. 41988-42000. ISSN 1944-8244
Abstract
To help understand the factors controlling the performance of one of the most promising n-type oxide thermoelectric SrTiO3, we need to explore structural control at the atomic level. In Sr1-xLa2x/3TiO3 ceramics (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.9), we determined that the thermal conductivity can be reduced and controlled through an interplay of La-substitution and A-site vacancies and the formation of a layered structure. The decrease in thermal conductivity with La and A-site vacancy substitution dominates the trend in the overall thermoelectric response. The maximum dimensionless figure of merit is 0.27 at 1070 K for composition x = 0.50 where half of the A-sites are occupied with La and vacancies. Atomic resolution Z-contrast imaging and atomic scale chemical analysis show that as the La content increases, A-site vacancies initially distribute randomly (x < 0.3), then cluster (x ≈ 0.5), and finally form layers (x = 0.9). The layering is accompanied by a structural phase transformation from cubic to orthorhombic and the formation of 90° rotational twins and antiphase boundaries, leading to the formation of localized supercells. The distribution of La and A-site vacancies contributes to a nonuniform distribution of atomic scale features. This combination induces temperature stable behavior in the material and reduces thermal conductivity, an important route to enhancement of the thermoelectric performance. A computational study confirmed that the thermal conductivity of SrTiO3 is lowered by the introduction of La and A-site vacancies as shown by the experiments. The modeling supports that a critical mass of A-site vacancies is needed to reduce thermal conductivity and that the arrangement of La, Sr, and A-site vacancies has a significant impact on thermal conductivity only at high La concentration.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 American Chemical Society. This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b14231. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | strontium titanate, thermal conductivity, vacancy−cation ordering, perovskite, molecular dynamics, nanostructuring |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 18 Dec 2017 15:17 |
Last Modified: | 14 Nov 2018 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acsami.7b14231 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:125290 |