11-05 :: May/June 2011

nanotimes News in Brief

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vehicle exhaust systems that convert exhaust heat into electricity, reducing the need for alternators. New thermoelectric materials could also help con- centrate solar energy for power generation and reco- ver waste heat for industrial processes.

Delaire‘s team performed additional neutron mea- surements with HFIR‘s triple-axis spectrometer. Data analysis has been facilitated through collaboration with ORNL‘s Materials Theory group. Samples were synthesized and characterized in ORNL‘s Correlated Electrons Materials group.

Neutron scattering experiments performed at ORNL show that lead telluride exhibits a strong anharmonic coupling between its optical and acoustic lattice vibrations, with a drop in thermal conductivity resembling a waterfall in this data image.

http://www.ornl.gov

O. Delaire, J. Ma, K. Marty, A. F. May, M. A. McGuire, M-H. Du, D. J. Singh, A. Podlesnyak, G. Ehlers, M. D. Lumsden & B. C. Sales: Giant anharmonic phonon scat- tering in PbTe, In: Nature Materials AOP, June 05, 2011, DOI:10.1038/nmat3035: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat3035

This newly discovered coupling helps explain the low thermal conductivity that makes lead telluride a promising material for thermoelectric devices. © ORNL