Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors

Qiu, Pengfei1; Agne, Matthias T.2; Liu, Yongying1; Zhu, Yaqin1; Chen, Hongyi1,3; Mao, Tao1,3; Yang, Jiong4; Zhang, Wenqing5; Haile, Sossina M.2; Zeier, Wolfgang G.6,7; Janek, Juergen6,7; Uher, Ctirad8; Shi, Xun1; Chen, Lidong1; Snyder, G. Jeffrey2

2018-07-25

10.1038/s41467-018-05248-8

Nature Communications   影响因子和分区

2041-1723

Many superionic mixed ionic-electronic conductors with a liquid-like sublattice have been identified as high efficiency thermoelectric materials, but their applications are limited due to the possibility of decomposition when subjected to high electronic currents and large temperature gradients. Here, through systematically investigating electromigration in copper sulfide/selenide thermoelectric materials, we reveal the mechanism for atom migration and deposition based on a critical chemical potential difference. Then, a strategy for stable use is proposed: constructing a series of electronically conducting, but ion-blocking barriers to reset the chemical potential of such conductors to keep it below the threshold for decomposition, even if it is used with high electric currents and/or large temperature differences. This strategy not only opens the possibility of using such conductors in thermoelectric applications, but may also provide approaches to engineer perovskite photovoltaic materials and the experimental methods may be applicable to understanding dendrite growth in lithium ion batteries.

SCI

英语

NI期刊

其他

Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC), an Energy Frontier Research Center - U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences[DE-SC0001299]

Science & Technology - Other Topics

Multidisciplinary Sciences

WOS:000439687600008

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

Web of Science

1.Chinese Acad Sci, Shanghai Inst Ceram, State Key Lab High Performance Ceram & Superfine, Shanghai 200050, Peoples R China
2.Northwestern Univ, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, Evanston, IL 60208 USA
3.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China
4.Shanghai Univ, Mat Genome Inst, Shanghai 200444, Peoples R China
5.South Univ Sci & Technol China, Dept Phys, Shenzhen 518055, Peoples R China
6.Justus Liebig Univ Giessen, Inst Phys Chem, Heinrich Buff Ring 17, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
7.Justus Liebig Univ Giessen, Ctr Mat Res, Heinrich Buff Ring 17, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
8.Univ Michigan, Dept Phys, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA

Qiu, Pengfei,Agne, Matthias T.,Liu, Yongying,et al. Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors[J]. Nature Communications,2018,9.

Qiu, Pengfei.,Agne, Matthias T..,Liu, Yongying.,Zhu, Yaqin.,Chen, Hongyi.,...&Snyder, G. Jeffrey.(2018).Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors.Nature Communications,9.

Qiu, Pengfei,et al."Suppression of atom motion and metal deposition in mixed ionic electronic conductors".Nature Communications 9(2018).