Strong anharmonicity dictates ultralow thermal conductivities of type-I clathrates

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Jasrasaria, Dipti, Berkelbach, Timothy C.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866915360335200256
author Jasrasaria, Dipti
Berkelbach, Timothy C.
author_facet Jasrasaria, Dipti
Berkelbach, Timothy C.
contents Type-I clathrate solids have attracted significant interest due to their ultralow thermal conductivities and subsequent promise for thermoelectric applications, yet the mechanisms underlying these properties are not well understood. Here, we extend the framework of vibrational dynamical mean-field theory (VDMFT) to calculate temperature-dependent thermal transport properties of $X_8$Ga$_{16}$Ge$_{30}$, where $X=$ Ba, Sr, using a many-body Green's function approach. We find that nonresonant scattering between cage acoustic modes and rattling modes leads to a reduction of acoustic phonon lifetimes and thus thermal conductivities. Moreover, we find that the moderate temperature dependence of conductivities above 300 K, which is consistent with experimental measurements, cannot be reproduced by standard perturbation theory calculations, which predict a $T^{-1}$ dependence. Therefore, we conclude that nonperturbative anharmonic effects, including four- and higher-phonon scattering processes, are responsible for the ultralow thermal conductivities of type-I clathrates.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_08242
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strong anharmonicity dictates ultralow thermal conductivities of type-I clathrates
Jasrasaria, Dipti
Berkelbach, Timothy C.
Materials Science
Chemical Physics
Type-I clathrate solids have attracted significant interest due to their ultralow thermal conductivities and subsequent promise for thermoelectric applications, yet the mechanisms underlying these properties are not well understood. Here, we extend the framework of vibrational dynamical mean-field theory (VDMFT) to calculate temperature-dependent thermal transport properties of $X_8$Ga$_{16}$Ge$_{30}$, where $X=$ Ba, Sr, using a many-body Green's function approach. We find that nonresonant scattering between cage acoustic modes and rattling modes leads to a reduction of acoustic phonon lifetimes and thus thermal conductivities. Moreover, we find that the moderate temperature dependence of conductivities above 300 K, which is consistent with experimental measurements, cannot be reproduced by standard perturbation theory calculations, which predict a $T^{-1}$ dependence. Therefore, we conclude that nonperturbative anharmonic effects, including four- and higher-phonon scattering processes, are responsible for the ultralow thermal conductivities of type-I clathrates.
title Strong anharmonicity dictates ultralow thermal conductivities of type-I clathrates
topic Materials Science
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.08242