Synthesis,physical properties,and annealing investigation of new layered Bi-chalcogenide LaOBiHgS_3

The transport and thermoelectric properties together with annealing of the new layered Bi-chalcogenide LaOBiHgS_3 are studied. On the transport part, the insulating behavior of the as-grown sample is evidently depressed by post annealing.A hump-like abnormality appears around 170 K. The thermoelectric performance of the sample is observably improved by the annealing, mainly because of the enhanced electrical conductance. The present results suggest that the physical properties of LaOBiHgS_3 are sensitive to post annealing and the possible micro adjustments that follow, indicating the layered Bi-chalcogenide family to be an ideal platform for designing novel functional materials.