Microstructure and a nucleation mechanism for nanoprecipitates in PbTe-AgSbTe2.
Many recent advances in thermoelectric (TE) materials are attributed to their nanoscale constituents. Determination of the nanocomposite structures has represented a major experimental and computational challenge and eluded previous attempts. Here we present the first atomically resolved structures of high performance TE material PbTe-AgSbTe2 by transmission electron microscopy imaging and density functional theory calculations. The results establish an accurate structural characterization for PbTe-AgSbTe2 and identify the interplay of electric dipolar interactions and strain fields as the driving mechanism for nanoprecipitate nucleation and aggregation.
Ke
Xuezhi
X
Department of Physics and High Pressure Science and Engineering Center, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154, USA. xzke@phy.ecnu.edu.cn
Chen
Changfeng
C
Yang
Jihui
J
Wu
Lijun
L
Zhou
Juan
J
Li
Qiang
Q
Zhu
Yimei
Y
Kent
P R C
PR