Mg₃Sb₂-based Zintl phase compounds have attracted considerable attention as promising thermoelectric materials in recent years. Mg defects are generally thought to play an important role in the n-type conduction of Mg₃Sb₂, and obtaining atomic occupancy of Mg and Sb is important for understanding the relationship of atomic defects and transport properties. However, the high angle annular dark-field (HAADF) and annular bright-field (ABF) in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), which were commonly used to reveal the atomic information of other thermoelectric materials, failed to visualize the Mg atoms of Mg₃Sb₂, giving an illusion of the disappearance of Mg. In this work, the advanced integrated differential phase contrast (iDPC) technique is used, which clearly visualize the Mg and Sb atoms simultaneously in Mg₃Sb₂ single crystal. We found that Mg and Sb occupancy the real lattice sites without observing the interstitial Mg atoms. Our results highlight the importance of the iDPC technique in revealing the accurate atomic occupancy of light-element-based thermoelectrics, which will pave the way for understanding the microstructure-properties relationship.

近年来，Mg ₃ Sb ₂基Zintl相化合物作为有前景的热电材料引起了广泛的关注。通常认为Mg缺陷在Mg ₃ Sb ₂的n型传导中起重要作用，获得Mg和Sb的原子占有率对于理解原子缺陷与输运性质的关系很重要。然而，通常用于揭示其他热电材料原子信息的扫描透射电子显微镜 (STEM) 中的高角度环形暗场 (HAADF) 和环形明场 (ABF) 未能将 Mg 原子可视化。镁₃锑₂，给人一种镁消失的错觉。在这项工作中，使用了先进的集成微分相衬 (iDPC) 技术，它可以清楚地同时显示 Mg ₃ Sb ₂单晶中的 Mg 和 Sb 原子。我们发现 Mg 和 Sb 占据了真正的晶格位置，而没有观察到间隙 Mg 原子。我们的结果强调了 iDPC 技术在揭示基于轻元素的热电材料的准确原子占有率方面的重要性，这将为理解微观结构-性能关系铺平道路。