Lattice dynamics in the thermoelectric Zintl compound Yb14MnSb11

A. Möchel, I. Sergueev, H.-C. Wille, F. Juranyi, H. Schober, W. Schweika, S. R. Brown, S. M. Kauzlarich, and R. P. Hermann
Phys. Rev. B 84, 184303 – Published 16 November 2011

Abstract

The density of phonon states in the thermoelectric material Yb14MnSb11 has been studied first by inelastic neutron scattering and second in an element-specific way by nuclear inelastic x-ray scattering. The low sound velocity of 1880(50) m/s as obtained from the density of phonon states can be identified as an important reason for the low heat transport in this system. The high melting temperature of Yb14MnSb11 contrasts with the low energy of all phonons (<25 meV) and relates to an unusual lack of softening of phonon modes with temperature, when comparing the phonon density of states observed at ambient temperatures and at 1200 K. We have also measured the density of phonon states of the related Eu14MnSb11 compound and of the thermoelectric Zintl phase Zn4Sb3 in order to compare with related thermodynamic properties of Yb14MnSb11 and to elucidate the different mechanisms of the heat conductivity reduction in Zintl phases.

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  • Received 8 July 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.184303

©2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Möchel1,2, I. Sergueev3, H.-C. Wille4, F. Juranyi5, H. Schober6,7, W. Schweika1, S. R. Brown8, S. M. Kauzlarich8, and R. P. Hermann1,2,*

  • 1Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) and Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI), JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
  • 2Faculté des Sciences, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
  • 3European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, F-38043 Grenoble Cedex, France
  • 4Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
  • 5Laboratory for Neutron Scattering, ETH Zürich and Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland
  • 6Institut Laue-Langevin, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
  • 7Université Joseph Fourier, Unité de Formation et de Recherche (UFR) de Physique, F-38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
  • 8Department of Chemistry, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA

  • *r.hermann@fz-juelich.de

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Issue

Vol. 84, Iss. 18 — 1 November 2011

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