Accelerated Discovery of Crystalline Materials with Record Ultralow Lattice Thermal Conductivity via a Universal Descriptor

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Shen, Xingchen, Zheng, Jiongzhi, Koza, Michael Marek, Levinsky, Petr, Hejtmanek, Jiri, Boullay, Philippe, Raveau, Bernard, Wang, Jinghui, Li, Jun, Lemoine, Pierric, Candolfi, Christophe, Guilmeau, Emmanuel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Shen, Xingchen
Zheng, Jiongzhi
Koza, Michael Marek
Levinsky, Petr
Hejtmanek, Jiri
Boullay, Philippe
Raveau, Bernard
Wang, Jinghui
Li, Jun
Lemoine, Pierric
Candolfi, Christophe
Guilmeau, Emmanuel
author_facet Shen, Xingchen
Zheng, Jiongzhi
Koza, Michael Marek
Levinsky, Petr
Hejtmanek, Jiri
Boullay, Philippe
Raveau, Bernard
Wang, Jinghui
Li, Jun
Lemoine, Pierric
Candolfi, Christophe
Guilmeau, Emmanuel
contents Ultralow glass-like lattice thermal conductivity in crystalline materials is crucial for enhancing energy conversion efficiency in thermoelectrics and thermal insulators. We introduce a universal descriptor for thermal conductivity that relies only on the atomic number in the primitive cell and the sound velocity, enabling fast and scalable materials screening. Coupled with high-throughput workflows and universal machine learning potentials, we identify the candidate materials with ultralow thermal conductivity from over 25, 000 materials. We further validate this approach by experimentally confirming record-low thermal conductivity values of 0.15-0.16 W/m/K from 170 to 400 K in the halide metal CsAg2I3. Combining inelastic neutron scattering with first-principles calculations, we attribute the ultralow thermal conductivity to the intrinsically small sound velocity, strong anharmonicity, and structural complexity. Our work illustrates how a universal descriptor, combined with high-throughput screening, machine-learning potential and experiment, enables the efficient discovery of materials with ultralow thermal conductivity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_21172
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Accelerated Discovery of Crystalline Materials with Record Ultralow Lattice Thermal Conductivity via a Universal Descriptor
Shen, Xingchen
Zheng, Jiongzhi
Koza, Michael Marek
Levinsky, Petr
Hejtmanek, Jiri
Boullay, Philippe
Raveau, Bernard
Wang, Jinghui
Li, Jun
Lemoine, Pierric
Candolfi, Christophe
Guilmeau, Emmanuel
Materials Science
Ultralow glass-like lattice thermal conductivity in crystalline materials is crucial for enhancing energy conversion efficiency in thermoelectrics and thermal insulators. We introduce a universal descriptor for thermal conductivity that relies only on the atomic number in the primitive cell and the sound velocity, enabling fast and scalable materials screening. Coupled with high-throughput workflows and universal machine learning potentials, we identify the candidate materials with ultralow thermal conductivity from over 25, 000 materials. We further validate this approach by experimentally confirming record-low thermal conductivity values of 0.15-0.16 W/m/K from 170 to 400 K in the halide metal CsAg2I3. Combining inelastic neutron scattering with first-principles calculations, we attribute the ultralow thermal conductivity to the intrinsically small sound velocity, strong anharmonicity, and structural complexity. Our work illustrates how a universal descriptor, combined with high-throughput screening, machine-learning potential and experiment, enables the efficient discovery of materials with ultralow thermal conductivity.
title Accelerated Discovery of Crystalline Materials with Record Ultralow Lattice Thermal Conductivity via a Universal Descriptor
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.21172