Excellent thermoelectric performance predicted in Sb2Te with natural superlattice structure

Using first-principles calculations combined with the Boltzmann transport theory, we explore the thermoelectric properties of natural superlattice (SL) structure Sb₂Te. The results show that n-type Sb₂Te possesses larger Seebeck coefficient of 249.59 (318.87) μV/K than p-type Sb₂Te of 219.85 (210.38) μV/K and low lattice thermal conductivity of 1.25 (0.21) W/mK along the in-plane (out-of-plane) direction at 300 K. The excellent electron transport performance is mainly attributed to steeper density of state around the bottom of conduction band. The ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of Sb₂Te is mainly caused by low phonon group velocity and strong anharmonicity. Further analysis shows that the decrease of group velocity comes from flatter dispersion curves which are contributed by the Brillouin-zone folding. The strong anharmonicity is mainly due to the presence of lone-pair electrons in Sb₂Te. Combining such a high Seebeck coefficient with the low lattice thermal conductivity, maximum n-type thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 1.46 and 1.38 could be achieved along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions at room temperature, which is higher than the reported values of Sb₂Te₃. The findings presented here provide insight into the transport property of Sb₂Te and highlight potential applications of thermoelectric materials at room temperature.     

MoSi2薄膜电子性质的第一性原理研究

采用第一性原理计算方法, 研究了四方MoSi₂薄膜的电子性质. 计算结果表明, 各种厚度的薄膜都是金属性的, 并且随着厚度的增加, 其态密度与能带结构都逐渐趋近于MoSi₂块体的特性. 通过对MoSi₂薄膜磁性的分析, 发现三个原子层厚的薄膜具有磁性, 其原胞净磁矩为0.33 μ_B; 而当薄膜的厚度大于三个原子层时, 薄膜不具有磁性. 此外, 进一步对单侧加氢饱和以及双侧加氢饱和结构下三原子层MoSi₂薄膜的电子性质进行了研究, 发现单侧加氢饱和的三原子层MoSi₂薄膜具有磁性, 其原胞净磁矩为0.26 μ_B, 而双侧加氢饱和三原子层MoSi₂薄膜是非磁性的. 双侧未饱和与单侧加氢饱和的三原子层MoSi₂薄膜的自旋极化率分别为30%和33%. 这些研究结果表明, 三原子层厚的MoSi₂ 超薄薄膜在悬空或者生长于基底之上时具有金属磁性, 预示着它在纳米电子学和自旋电子学器件等方面都有潜在的应用前景.