Abstract Complex diamond-like chalcogenides, A2Cu3In3Te8 (A = Zn, Cd, Mn, Mg), were discovered and demonstrated to be promising thermoelectric materials in our prior work. Here we disclose that in-situ nanodomains coherently embedded in the A2Cu3In3Te8 (A = Zn, Cd) matrixes are generated by the chemical composition fluctuation. Cations enter into the interstitial lattice sites to form in-situ nanodomains, which slightly influence electron migration but effectively scatter phonons. The nanodomains can be successfully tailored by further composition fluctuation with the substitution of Cu+ for A2+, resulting in significantly improved electrical transport properties and reduced lattice thermal conductivity. The peak zT values of ∼1.0 and 1.2 at 873 K are achieved for Zn1.6Cu3.4In3Te8 and Cd1.6Cu3.4In3Te8, respectively, exceeding the hitherto reported zT values among quaternary diamond-like chalcogenides. Manipulating in-situ nanodomains in A2Cu3In3Te8 by introducing chemical composition fluctuation renders a promise in enhancing thermoelectric efficiency by nanostructure engineering within the complex thermoelectric materials.

中文翻译：

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来自热电 A2Cu3In3Te8 (A = Zn, Cd) 中化学成分波动的嵌入原位纳米域

摘要 复杂的类金刚石硫属元素 A2Cu3In3Te8（A = Zn、Cd、Mn、Mg）在我们之前的工作中被发现并证明是很有前途的热电材料。在这里，我们公开了原位纳米域相干嵌入 A2Cu3In3Te8（A = Zn，Cd）基质中是由化学成分波动产生的。阳离子进入间隙晶格位点形成原位纳米域，这对电子迁移有轻微影响，但有效地散射声子。纳米域可以通过进一步的成分波动来成功定制，用 Cu+ 代替 A2+，从而显着改善电传输性能并降低晶格热导率。Zn1.6Cu3.4In3Te8 和 Cd1.6Cu3.4In3Te8 分别在 873 K 达到了 ~1.0 和 1.2 的峰值 zT 值，超过迄今为止报道的四元类金刚石硫属元素的 zT 值。通过引入化学成分波动来操纵 A2Cu3In3Te8 中的原位纳米域，有望通过复杂热电材料中的纳米结构工程提高热电效率。