Glass-like thermal conductivity in SrTiO3 thermoelectrics induced by A-site vacancies

TL;DR

Introducing A-site vacancies in SrTiO3 drastically reduces its thermal conductivity to glass-like levels without compromising electrical conductivity, advancing its potential as a high-performance thermoelectric material.

Contribution

This study demonstrates that A-site vacancies induce glass-like thermal conductivity in SrTiO3, a novel approach to enhance thermoelectric performance.

Findings

A-site vacancies cause glass-like thermal conductivity in SrTiO3.

Nb substitution maintains electrical conductivity while reducing thermal conductivity.

SrTiO3 with vacancies approaches ideal phonon-glass electron-crystal thermoelectric behavior.

Abstract

The introduction of A-site vacancies in SrTiO3 results in a glass-like thermal conductivity while Nb substituted samples maintains good electrical conductivity. This unexpected result brings SrTiO3 one step closer to being a high-performing phonon-glass electron-crystal thermoelectric material.