The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering
Abstract At elevated temperatures SnSe is reported to undergo a structural transition from the low symmetry orthorhombic GeS-type to a higher symmetry orthorhombic TlI-type. Although increasing symmetry should likewise increase lattice thermal conductivity, many experiments on single crystals and po...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38454-0 |
| _version_ | 1797811391597379584 |
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| author | Bo Jiang Jennifer Neu Daniel Olds Simon A. J. Kimber Katharine Page Theo Siegrist |
| author_facet | Bo Jiang Jennifer Neu Daniel Olds Simon A. J. Kimber Katharine Page Theo Siegrist |
| author_sort | Bo Jiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract At elevated temperatures SnSe is reported to undergo a structural transition from the low symmetry orthorhombic GeS-type to a higher symmetry orthorhombic TlI-type. Although increasing symmetry should likewise increase lattice thermal conductivity, many experiments on single crystals and polycrystalline materials indicate that this is not the case. Here we present temperature dependent analysis of time-of-flight (TOF) neutron total scattering data in combination with theoretical modeling to probe the local to long-range evolution of the structure. We report that while SnSe is well characterized on average within the high symmetry space group above the transition, over length scales of a few unit cells SnSe remains better characterized in the low symmetry GeS-type space group. Our finding from robust modeling provides further insight into the curious case of a dynamic order-disorder phase transition in SnSe, a model consistent with the soft-phonon picture of the high thermoelectric power above the phase transition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:23:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2451cae4862a44e8829bee26d5c49698 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:23:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-2451cae4862a44e8829bee26d5c496982023-06-04T11:32:24ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-06-0114111010.1038/s41467-023-38454-0The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scatteringBo Jiang0Jennifer Neu1Daniel Olds2Simon A. J. Kimber3Katharine Page4Theo Siegrist5Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryNational High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State UniversityNeutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryLaboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne, UMR 6303 CNRS-Université Bourgogne Franche-ComtéNeutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryNational High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State UniversityAbstract At elevated temperatures SnSe is reported to undergo a structural transition from the low symmetry orthorhombic GeS-type to a higher symmetry orthorhombic TlI-type. Although increasing symmetry should likewise increase lattice thermal conductivity, many experiments on single crystals and polycrystalline materials indicate that this is not the case. Here we present temperature dependent analysis of time-of-flight (TOF) neutron total scattering data in combination with theoretical modeling to probe the local to long-range evolution of the structure. We report that while SnSe is well characterized on average within the high symmetry space group above the transition, over length scales of a few unit cells SnSe remains better characterized in the low symmetry GeS-type space group. Our finding from robust modeling provides further insight into the curious case of a dynamic order-disorder phase transition in SnSe, a model consistent with the soft-phonon picture of the high thermoelectric power above the phase transition.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38454-0 |
| spellingShingle | Bo Jiang Jennifer Neu Daniel Olds Simon A. J. Kimber Katharine Page Theo Siegrist The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering Nature Communications |
| title | The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering |
| title_full | The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering |
| title_fullStr | The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering |
| title_full_unstemmed | The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering |
| title_short | The curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering |
| title_sort | curious case of the structural phase transition in snse insights from neutron total scattering |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38454-0 |
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