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Updated: Apr 26, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Localization of propagative phonons in a perfectly crystalline solid
S Pailhès1, H Euchner2, V M Giordano3
1Institute of Light and Matter, UMR5306 Université Lyon 1-CNRS, Université de Lyon 69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France.
Abstract:
Perfectly crystalline solids are excellent heat conductors. Prominent counterexamples are intermetallic clathrates, guest-host systems with a high potential for thermoelectric applications due to their ultralow thermal conductivities. Our combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the lattice dynamics of a particularly simple binary representative, Ba(8)Si(46), identifies the mechanism responsible for the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity intrinsic to the perfect crystal structure. Above a critical wave vector, the purely harmonic guest-host interaction leads to a drastic transfer of spectral weight to the guest atoms, corresponding to a localization of the propagative phonons.
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