Suppressing Thermal Conductivity in SrTiO3 by Introducing Oxygen Isotope Disorder
Authors
Zang Y., Geng Z., Di C., Zheng N., Fang X., Yan X., Gu Z., Torres P., Íñiguez-González J., Huang R., Li F., Rurali R., Chen Y., Pan X., Lu M., Wang S., Nie Y.
Reference
Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, vol. 16, n° 8, pp. 1817-1822, 2025
Description
Transition metal oxides are promising candidates in the field of thermoelectricity, which can convert heat and electricity into each other and realize the efficient utilization of waste energy. For the figure of merit ZT = S2σT/(κe + κl), a lower thermal conductivity is desired for an enhanced ZT, and cation doping is an appropriate way to regulate the thermal transport properties. However, because S, σ, and κe are strongly coupled with each other, cation doping for one parameter modification can generate compensation with others, making regulation more difficult. In this work, we demonstrate the effective engineering of the thermal conductivity of SrTiO3 films by partial oxygen isotope substitution with 18O using a straightforward aftergrowth thermal annealing process. The results show that the isotope disorder promotes the scattering of phonons and generates a nearly 20% decreased thermal conductivity of SrTiO3 films. Our work provides a convenient new route for the design of thermoelectric materials with high ZT values.
Link
doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c03034
