Correlation between Crystal Structure and Thermoelectric Properties of Sr<sub>1−x</sub>Ti<sub>0.9</sub>Nb<sub>0.1</sub>O<sub>3−δ</sub> Ceramics

oleh: J. Prado-Gonjal, C. A. López, R. M. Pinacca, F. Serrano-Sánchez, N. M. Nemes, O. J. Dura, J.L. Martínez, M.T. Fernández-Díaz, J.A. Alonso

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-02-01

Deskripsi

Polycrystalline Sr<sub>1&#8722;x</sub>Ti<sub>0.9</sub>Nb<sub>0.1</sub>O<sub>3&#8722;&#948;</sub> (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2) ceramics have been prepared by the solid state method and their structural and thermoelectric properties have been studied by neutron powder diffraction (NPD), thermal, and transport measurements. The structural analysis of Sr<sub>1-x</sub>Ti<sub>0.9</sub>Nb<sub>0.1</sub>O<sub>3&#8722;&#948;</sub> (x = 0.1, 0.2) confirms the presence of a significant amount of oxygen vacancies, associated with the Sr-deficiency of the materials. The analysis of the anisotropic displacement parameters (ADPs) indicates a strong softening of the overall phonon modes for these samples, which is confirmed by the extremely low thermal conductivity value (&#954; &#8776; 1.6 W m-1 K&#8722;1 at 823 K) found for Sr<sub>1&#8722;x</sub>Ti<sub>0.9</sub>Nb<sub>0.1</sub>O<sub>3&#8722;&#948;</sub> (x = 0.1, 0.2). This approach of introducing A-site cation vacancies for decreasing the thermal conductivity seems more effective than the classical substitution of strontium by rare-earth elements in SrTiO<sub>3</sub> and opens a new optimization scheme for the thermoelectric properties of oxides.