Materials Chemistry and Physics, Vol.147, No.1-2, 17-27, 2014
Structure-property relationships along the Fe-substituted CuInS2 series: Tuning of thermoelectric and magnetic properties
CuIn1-xFexS2 (x = 0-0.15) was synthesized via high-temperature, solid-state synthesis. Rietveld refinements using the neutron and synchrotron powder diffraction data indicate that all Fe-substituted materials are phase pure with the exception of the CuIn0.85Fe0.15S2 sample, which contains a minute secondary phase. These refinements also verify that iron resides on the indium site in the CuIn1-xFexS2 materials. CuIn0.875Fe0.125S2 displayed the lowest total thermal conductivity of the series, 1.37 W m(-1) K-1 at 570 K, as well as the highest thermopower, -172 mu V K-1 at 560 K. The electrical conductivity increases over six times upon going from CuInS2 to CuIn0.875Fe0.125S2. These improved properties result in an increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of CuInS2 by over an order of magnitude for the x = 0.125 sample. Magnetic measurements reveal the x = 0-0.10 samples to be paramagnetic, while the sample in which x = 0.125 displays ferromagnetic ordering below 95 K. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Inorganic compounds;Magnetic materials;Powder diffraction;Neutron diffraction;Thermoelectric effects;Thermal conductivity