171 research outputs found
Evidence for hard and soft substructures in thermoelectric SnSe
SnSe is a topical thermoelectric material with a low thermal conductivity
which is linked to its unique crystal structure. We use low-temperature heat
capacity measurements to demonstrate the presence of two characteristic
vibrational energy scales in SnSe with Debye temperatures thetaD1 = 345(9) K
and thetaD2 = 154(2) K. These hard and soft substructures are quantitatively
linked to the strong and weak Sn-Se bonds in the crystal structure. The heat
capacity model predicts the temperature evolution of the unit cell volume,
confirming that this two-substructure model captures the basic thermal
properties. Comparison with phonon calculations reveals that the soft
substructure is associated with the low energy phonon modes that are
responsible for the thermal transport. This suggests that searching for
materials containing highly divergent bond distances should be a fruitful route
for discovering low thermal conductivity materials.Comment: Accepted by Applied Physics Letter
Large enhancement of the thermopower in NaCoO at high Na doping
Research on the oxide perovskites has uncovered electronic properties that
are strikingly enhanced compared with those in conventional metals. Examples
are the high critical temperatures of the cuprate superconductors and the
colossal magnetoresistance in the manganites. The conducting layered cobaltate
displays several interesting electronic phases as is varied
including water-induced superconductivity and an insulating state that is
destroyed by field. Initial measurements showed that, in the as-grown
composition, displays moderately large thermopower and
conductivity . However, the prospects for thermoelectric cooling
applications faded when the figure of merit was found to be small at this
composition (0.60.7). Here we report that, in the poorly-explored
high-doping region 0.75, undergoes an even steeper enhancement. At the
critical doping 0.85, (at 80 K) reaches values 40 times
larger than in the as-grown crystals. We discuss prospects for low-temperature
thermoelectric applications.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
A Broadly Applicable Strategy for Entry into Homogeneous Nickel(0) Catalysts from Air-Stable Nickel(II) Complexes
A series of air-stable nickel complexes of the form L[subscript 2]Ni(aryl) X (L = monodentate phosphine, X = Cl, Br) and LNi(aryl)X (L = bis-phosphine) have been synthesized and are presented as a library of precatalysts suitable for a wide variety of nickel-catalyzed transformations. These complexes are easily synthesized from low-cost NiCl[subscript 2]·6H[subscript 2]O or NiBr[subscript 2]·3H[subscript 2]O and the desired ligand followed by addition of 1 equiv of Grignard reagent. A selection of these complexes were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and an analysis of their structural features is provided. A case study of their use as precatalysts for the nickel-catalyzed carbonyl-ene reaction is presented, showing superior reactivity in comparison to reactions using Ni(cod)[subscript 2]. Furthermore, as the precatalysts are all stable to air, no glovebox or inert-atmosphere techniques are required to make use of these complexes for nickel-catalyzed reactions.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (GM63755)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowshi
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