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Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of Chalcogenidoplumbates(II or IV)
Published on: December 29, 2016
Role of lone-pair electrons in producing minimum thermal conductivity in nitrogen-group chalcogenide compounds
Eric J Skoug1, Donald T Morelli
1Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
Abstract:
Fully dense crystalline solids with extremely low lattice thermal conductivity (κ(L)) are of practical importance for applications including thermoelectric energy conversion and thermal barrier coatings. Here we show that lone-pair electrons can give rise to minimum κ(L) in chalcogenide compounds that contain a nominally trivalent group VA element. Electrostatic repulsion between the lone-pair electrons and neighboring chalcogen ions creates anharmonicity in the lattice, the strength of which is determined by the morphology of the lone-pair orbital and the coordination number of the group VA atom.
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