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Possibility of interstitial Na as electron donor in Yb14MgSb11

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Abstract

Here, we investigate Na-doping Yb14MgSb11 as a potential route to increase carrier concentration based on an improved multiband model. Experimental transport data were collected on Yb14-xNaxMgSb11 samples prepared by ball milling and hot pressing. We show that Na increases the Seebeck coefficient and resistivity, suggesting that it behaves not as a substituent but as an interstitial electron donor under this synthesis and processing conditions, decreasing hole carrier concentration. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of equilibrium phases, defect formation enthalpies, and band diagrams shed light on the defect-modified carrier concentrations. Depending on the equilibrium phase, Na can behave as a substitutional or interstitial defect.

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Acknowledgments

We thank NSF DMREF award# 1729487 for support of this project. NAP was supported by a grant from the Undergraduate Research Grant Program which is administered by Northwestern University's Office of Undergraduate Research. MYT acknowledges support from the United States Department of Energy through the Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) under Grant Number DE-SC0020347. This research was supported in part through the computational resources and staff contributions provided for the Quest high-performance computing facility at Northwestern University which is jointly supported by the Office of the Provost, the Office for Research, and Northwestern University Information Technology.

Funding

The study resulting in this publication was supported by a grant from the Undergraduate Research Grant Program which is administered by Northwestern University's Office of Undergraduate Research. M.W.'s research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was supported by an appointment to the NASA Postdoctoral Program, administered by the Universities Space Research Association under contract with the NASA. NSF DMREF award #1729487.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Naomi A. Pieczulewski, Max Wood, Michael Y. Toriyama, James P. Male, Kent J. Griffith & G. Jeffrey Snyder

  2. Thermal Energy Conversion Technologies Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA

    Max Wood

  3. Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Kent J. Griffith

Authors
  1. Naomi A. Pieczulewski
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  3. Michael Y. Toriyama
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  6. G. Jeffrey Snyder
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Correspondence to G. Jeffrey Snyder.

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Pieczulewski, N.A., Wood, M., Toriyama, M.Y. et al. Possibility of interstitial Na as electron donor in Yb14MgSb11. MRS Communications 11, 226–232 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-021-00019-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-021-00019-x

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