Modeling critical thermoelectric transports driven by band broadening and phonon softening

Kunpeng Zhao (), Zhongmou Yue, Hexige Wuliji, Hongyi Chen (), Tingting Deng, Jingdan Lei, Pengfei Qiu, Lidong Chen and Xun Shi ()
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Kunpeng Zhao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhongmou Yue: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hexige Wuliji: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Hongyi Chen: Central South University
Tingting Deng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jingdan Lei: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Pengfei Qiu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lidong Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xun Shi: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Critical phenomena are one of the most captivating areas of modern physics, whereas the relevant experimental and theoretical studies are still very challenging. Particularly, the underlying mechanism behind the anomalous thermoelectric properties during critical phase transitions remains elusive, i.e., the current theoretical models for critical electrical transports are either qualitative or solely focused on a specific transport parameter. Herein, we develop a quantitative theory to model the electrical transports during critical phase transitions by incorporating both the band broadening effect and carrier-soft TO phonon interactions. It is found that the band-broadening effect contributes an additional term to Seebeck coefficient, while the carrier—soft TO phonon interactions greatly affects both electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient. The universality and validity of our model are well confirmed by experimental data. Furthermore, the features of critical phase transitions are effectively tuned. For example, alloying S in Cu2Se can reduce the phase transition temperature but increase the phase transition parameter b. The maximum thermoelectric figure of merit zT is pushed to a high value of 1.3 at the critical point (377 K), which is at least twice as large as those of normal static phases. This work not only provides a clear picture of the critical electrical transports but also presents new guidelines for future studies in this exciting area.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45093-6

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