Rattling structures of halide perovskites: cesium tin iodide (left) and cesium lead iodide (right). (Credit: Berkeley Lab/UC Berkeley)
A newly discovered collective rattling effect in a type of crystalline semiconductor blocks most heat transfer while preserving high electrical conductivity - a rare pairing that scientists say could reduce heat buildup in electronic devices and turbine engines, among other possible applications. A team led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) discovered these exotic traits in a class of materials known as halide perovskites , which are also considered promising candidates for next-generation solar panels , nanoscale lasers , electronic cooling, and electronic displays. These interrelated thermal and electrical (or "thermoelectric”) properties were found in nanoscale wires of cesium tin iodide (CsSnI3). The material was observed to have one of the lowest levels of heat conductivity among materials with a continuous crystalline structure. This so-called single-crystal material can also be more easily produced in large quantities than typical thermoelectric materials, such as silicon-germanium, researchers said. "Its properties originate from the crystal structure itself. It's an atomic sort of phenomenon,” said Woochul Lee, a postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley Lab who was the lead author of the study, published the week of July 31 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
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