Yang Dongwang, Su Xianli, He Jian, Yan Yonggao, Li Jun, Bai Hui, Luo Tingting, Liu Yamei, Luo Hao, Yu Yimeng, Wu Jinsong, Zhang Qingjie, Uher Ctirad, Tang Xinfeng
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, 430070, Wuhan, China.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA.
Nat Commun. 2021 Oct 19;12(1):6077. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26265-0.
Mobile ion-enabled phenomena make β-ZnSb a promising material in terms of the re-entry phase instability behavior, mixed electronic ionic conduction, and thermoelectric performance. Here, we utilize the fast Zn migration under a sawtooth waveform electric field and a dynamical growth of 3-dimensional ionic conduction network to achieve ultra-fast synthesis of β-ZnSb. Moreover, the interplay between the mobile ions, electric field, and temperature field gives rise to exquisite core-shell crystalline-amorphous microstructures that self-adaptively stabilize β-ZnSb. Doping Cd or Ge on the Zn site as steric hindrance further stabilizes β-ZnSb by restricting long-range Zn migration and extends the operation temperature range of high thermoelectric performance. These results provide insight into the development of mixed-conduction thermoelectric materials, batteries, and other functional materials.
移动离子引发的现象使β-ZnSb在再入相不稳定性行为、混合电子离子传导和热电性能方面成为一种有前景的材料。在此，我们利用锯齿波形电场下快速的锌迁移和三维离子传导网络的动态生长来实现β-ZnSb的超快速合成。此外，移动离子、电场和温度场之间的相互作用产生了精致的核壳晶体-非晶微结构，这些微结构能自适应地稳定β-ZnSb。在锌位点掺杂镉或锗作为空间位阻，通过限制长程锌迁移进一步稳定β-ZnSb，并扩展了高热电性能的工作温度范围。这些结果为混合传导热电材料、电池及其他功能材料的发展提供了思路。
