Publications

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Nanostructuring of thermoelectric materials is expected to enhance thermoelectric properties by reducing the thermal conductivity and improving the power factor from that of homogeneous bulk materials. In multiphase, nanostructured thermoelectric materials, an understanding of precipitation mechanisms and phase stability is crucial for engineering systems with optimal thermoelectric performance. In this presentation we will discuss our investigations of the morphological evolution, orientation relationship, and composition of Ag{sub 2}Te precipitates in PbTe using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). Annealing in the region of two phase equilibrium between Ag{sub 2}Te and PbTe results in the formation of monoclinic {beta}-Ag{sub 2}Te precipitates as determined by x-ray and electron diffraction studies. These precipitates are aligned to the PbTe matrix with an orientation relationship that aligns the Te sub-lattices in the monoclinic and rock salt structures. This relationship is the same as we have reported earlier for {beta}-Ag{sub 2}Te precipitates in rocksalt AgSbTe{sub 2}. Observations using TEM and APT suggest that the Ag{sub 2}Te precipitates initially form as coherent spherical precipitates which upon coarsening evolve into flattened semi-coherent disks along the <100>PbTe directions which is consistent with theoretical predictions for elastically strained precipitates in a matrix. Our HRTEM observations show that sufficiently small precipitates are coherently embedded, while larger precipitates exhibit misfit dislocations and multiple monoclinic variants to relieve the elastic strain. Analysis of the composition of both precipitate groups using APT indicates that the larger precipitates exhibit compositions close to equilibrium while the smaller nanoscale precipitates exhibit enhanced Pb compositions. This detailed analysis of the orientation relationship, morphology, composition, and coarsening behavior of embedded Ag{sub 2}Te precipitates may be helpful in understanding the precipitation mechanisms and microstructure of related thermoelectric materials, such as LAST.

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The precipitation of Ag{sub 2}Te in a PbTe matrix is investigated using electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. We observe the formation of oriented nanoscale Ag{sub 2}Te precipitates in PbTe. These precipitates initially form as coherent spherical nanoparticles and evolve into flattened semi-coherent disks during coarsening. This change in morphology is consistent with equilibrium shape theory for coherently strained precipitates. Upon annealing at elevated temperatures these precipitates eventually revert to an equiaxed morphology. We suggest this shape change occurs once the precipitates grow beyond a critical size, making it favorable to relieve the elastic coherency strains by forming interfacial misfit dislocations. These investigations of the shape and coherency of Ag{sub 2}Te precipitates in PbTe should prove useful in the design of nanostructured thermoelectric materials.

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Chalcogenide compounds based on the rocksalt and tetradymite structures possess good thermoelectric properties and are widely used in a variety of thermoelectric devices. Examples include PbTe and AgSbTe2, which have the rocksalt structure, and Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3, and Sb2Te3, which fall within the broad tetradymite-class of structures. These materials are also of interest for thermoelectric nanocomposites, where the aim is to improve thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency by harnessing interfacial scattering processes (e.g., reducing the thermal conductivity by phonon scattering or enhancing the Seebeck coefficient by energy filtering). Understanding the phase stability and microstructural evolution within such materials is key to designing processing approaches for optimal thermoelectric performance and to predicting the long-term nanostructural stability of the materials. In this presentation, we discuss our work investigating relationships between interfacial structure and formation mechanisms in several telluride-based thermoelectric materials. We begin with a discussion of interfacial coherency and its special aspects at interfaces in telluride compounds based on the rocksalt and tetradymite structures. We compare perfectly coherent interfaces, such as the Bi2Te3 (0001) twin, with semi-coherent, misfitting interfaces. We next discuss the formal crystallographic analysis of interfacial defects in these systems and then apply this methodology to high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observations of interfaces in the AgSbTe2/Sb2Te3 and PbTe/Sb2Te3 systems, focusing on interfaces vicinal to {l_brace}111{r_brace}/{l_brace}0001{r_brace}. Through this analysis, we identify a defect that can accomplish the rocksalt-to-tetradymite phase transformation through diffusive-glide motion along the interface.

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