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The thermoelectric performance of EuCd2Sb2 and YbCd2Sb2 was improved by mixed cation occupation. The composition, structure, and thermoelectric properties of YbxEu1-xCd2Sb2 (x=0, 0.5, 0.75, and 1) have been investigated. Polycrystalline samples are prepared by direct reaction of the elements. Thermoelectric properties were investigated after densification of the materials by spark plasma sintering. YbxEu1-xCd2Sb2 crystallizes in the P3m1 space group. The lattice parameters increase with the europium content. These materials show low electrical resistivity, high Seebeck coefficient, and low thermal conductivity together with high carrier concentration and high carrier mobility. ZT values of 0.88 and 0.97 are obtained for Yb0.5Eu0.5Cd2Sb2 and Yb0.75Eu0.25Cd2Sb2 at 650 K, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth metal borides have attracted great interest due to their unusual properties, such as superconductivity and f-electron magnetism. A recent discovery attributes the tunability of magnetism in rare earth aluminoborides to the effect of so-called "building defects." In this paper, we report data for the effect of building defects on the thermal conductivities of α-TmAlB4 single crystals. Building defects reduce the thermal conductivity of α-TmAlB4 by ≈30%. At room temperature, the thermal conductivity of AlB2 is nearly a factor of 5 higher than that of α-TmAlB4. AlB2 single crystals are thermally anisotropic with the c-axis thermal conductivity nearly twice the thermal conductivity of the a-b plane. Temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity near and above room temperature reveals that both electrons and phonons contribute substantially to thermal transport in AlB2 with electrons being the dominant heat carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermoelectric performance of EuCd2Sb2 and YbCd2Sb2 was improved by mixed cation occupation. The composition, structure, and thermoelectric properties of YbxEu1-xCd2Sb2 (x=0, 0.5, 0.75, and 1) have been investigated. Polycrystalline samples are prepared by direct reaction of the elements. Thermoelectric properties were investigated after densification of the materials by spark plasma sintering. YbxEu1-xCd2Sb2 crystallizes in the P3m1 space group. The lattice parameters increase with the europium content. These materials show low electrical resistivity, high Seebeck coefficient, and low thermal conductivity together with high carrier concentration and high carrier mobility. ZT values of 0.88 and 0.97 are obtained for Yb0.5Eu0.5Cd2Sb2 and Yb0.75Eu0.25Cd2Sb2 at 650 K, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key requirements for good thermoelectric materials is a low lattice thermal conductivity. Here we present a combined neutron scattering and theoretical investigation of the lattice dynamics in the type I clathrate system Ba-Ge-Ni, which fulfills this requirement. We observe a strong hybridization between phonons of the Ba guest atoms and acoustic phonons of the Ge-Ni host structure over a wide region of the Brillouin zone, which is in contrast with the frequently adopted picture of isolated Ba atoms in Ge-Ni host cages. It occurs without a strong decrease of the acoustic phonon lifetime, which contradicts the usual assumption of strong anharmonic phonon-phonon scattering processes. Within the framework of ab initio density-functional theory calculations we interpret these hybridizations as a series of anticrossings which act as a low-pass filter, preventing the propagation of acoustic phonons. To highlight the effect of such a phononic low-pass filter on the thermal transport, we compute the contribution of acoustic phonons to the thermal conductivity of Ba8Ge40Ni6 and compare it to those of pure Ge and a Ge46 empty-cage model system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]