Synergistically optimized electron and phonon transport in high-performance copper sulfides thermoelectric materials...

Optimizing thermoelectric conversion efficiency requires the compromise of electrical and thermal properties of materials, which are hard to simultaneously improve due to the strong coupling of carrier and phonon transport. Herein, a one-pot approach realizing simultaneous second phase and Cu vacancies modulation is proposed, which is effective in synergistically optimizing thermoelectric performance in copper sulfides. Multiple lattice defects, including nanoprecipitates, dislocations, and nanopores are produced by adding a refined ratio of Sn and Se. Phonon transport is significantly suppressed by multiple mechanisms. An ultralow lattice thermal conductivity is therefore obtained. Furthermore, extra Se is added in the copper sulfide for optimizing electrical transport properties by inducing generating Cu vacancies. Ultimately, an excellent figure of merit of ~1.6 at 873 K is realized in the Cu_1.992SSe_0.016(Cu₂SnSe₄)_0.004 bulk sample. The simple strategy of inducing compositional and structural modulation for improving thermoelectric parameters promotes low-cost high-performance copper sulfides as alternatives in thermoelectric applications.