A Map of the Zintl AM2Pn2 Compounds: Influence of Chemistry on Stability and Electronic Structure

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Pike, Andrew, Yuan, Zhenkun, Kassa, Gideon, Hasan, Muhammad R, Goswami, Smitakshi, Dugu, Sita, Quadir, Shaham, Zakutayev, Andriy, Bauers, Sage, Kovnir, Kirill, Liu, Jifeng, Hautier, Geoffroy
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Pike, Andrew
Yuan, Zhenkun
Kassa, Gideon
Hasan, Muhammad R
Goswami, Smitakshi
Dugu, Sita
Quadir, Shaham
Zakutayev, Andriy
Bauers, Sage
Kovnir, Kirill
Liu, Jifeng
Hautier, Geoffroy
author_facet Pike, Andrew
Yuan, Zhenkun
Kassa, Gideon
Hasan, Muhammad R
Goswami, Smitakshi
Dugu, Sita
Quadir, Shaham
Zakutayev, Andriy
Bauers, Sage
Kovnir, Kirill
Liu, Jifeng
Hautier, Geoffroy
contents The AM2Pn2 (A= Ca, Sr, Ba, Yb, Mg; M= Mn, Zn, Cd, Mg; and Pn=N, P, As, Sb, Bi) family of Zintl phases has been known as thermoelectric materials and has recently gained much attention for highly promising materials for solar absorbers in single junction and tandem solar cells. In this paper we will, from first-principles, explore the entire family of AM2Pn2 compounds in terms of their ground state structure, thermodynamic stability, and electronic structure. We also perform photoluminescence spectroscopy on bulk powder and thin film samples to verify our results, including the first measurements of the bandgaps of SrCd2P2 and CaCd2P2. The AM2Pn2 compounds exhibit broad stability, are mostly isostructural in the CaAl2Si2-type structure (P3m1), and cover a wide range of bandgaps from 0 to beyond 3 eV. This could make them useful for a variety of purposes, for which we propose several candidates, such as CaZn2N2 for tandem top cell solar absorbers and SrCd2Sb2 and CaZn2Sb2 for infrared detectors. By examining the band structures of the AM2Pn2, we find that Mg3Sb2 has the most promise as a thermoelectric material due to several off-Γ valence band pockets which are unique to it among the compositions studied here.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_08801
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Map of the Zintl AM2Pn2 Compounds: Influence of Chemistry on Stability and Electronic Structure
Pike, Andrew
Yuan, Zhenkun
Kassa, Gideon
Hasan, Muhammad R
Goswami, Smitakshi
Dugu, Sita
Quadir, Shaham
Zakutayev, Andriy
Bauers, Sage
Kovnir, Kirill
Liu, Jifeng
Hautier, Geoffroy
Materials Science
The AM2Pn2 (A= Ca, Sr, Ba, Yb, Mg; M= Mn, Zn, Cd, Mg; and Pn=N, P, As, Sb, Bi) family of Zintl phases has been known as thermoelectric materials and has recently gained much attention for highly promising materials for solar absorbers in single junction and tandem solar cells. In this paper we will, from first-principles, explore the entire family of AM2Pn2 compounds in terms of their ground state structure, thermodynamic stability, and electronic structure. We also perform photoluminescence spectroscopy on bulk powder and thin film samples to verify our results, including the first measurements of the bandgaps of SrCd2P2 and CaCd2P2. The AM2Pn2 compounds exhibit broad stability, are mostly isostructural in the CaAl2Si2-type structure (P3m1), and cover a wide range of bandgaps from 0 to beyond 3 eV. This could make them useful for a variety of purposes, for which we propose several candidates, such as CaZn2N2 for tandem top cell solar absorbers and SrCd2Sb2 and CaZn2Sb2 for infrared detectors. By examining the band structures of the AM2Pn2, we find that Mg3Sb2 has the most promise as a thermoelectric material due to several off-Γ valence band pockets which are unique to it among the compositions studied here.
title A Map of the Zintl AM2Pn2 Compounds: Influence of Chemistry on Stability and Electronic Structure
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.08801