Nanowerk November 26, 2024 Materials with axis-dependent conduction polarity (ADCP), which exhibit electron-like and hole-like conduction along distinct crystallographic axes, have garnered interest as potential candidates for effective transverse thermoelectric (TTE) conversion. However, the challenge of designing materials with ADCP is still unresolved. Researchers in Japan conducted experimental and computational investigations on the ADCP in thermopower of WSi single crystals and found that the ADCP stems from the mixed-dimensionality of the Fermi surfaces, characterized by the coexistence of quasi-one-dimensional electron-like and quasi-two-dimensional hole-like sheets. They demonstrated TTE conversion in WSi single crystals by detecting the electromotive force along the perpendicular […]
Tag Archives: Energy production
Proton-conducting materials could enable new green energy technologies
MIT News July 23, 2024 A quantitative understanding of the physical traits of a material that regulates proton diffusion is necessary for accelerating the discovery of fast proton conductors which is key for advancing many electrochemical technologies. A team of researchers in the US (MIT, Auburn University, Northwestern University) mapped the structural, chemical and dynamic properties of solid acids to the elementary steps of the Grotthuss mechanism of proton diffusion by combining ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, analysis of phonon spectra and atomic structure calculations. They identified the donor–hydrogen bond lengths and the acidity of polyanion groups as key descriptors […]