Intermetallic compounds composed of complex unit cells have been studied as potential thermoelectric materials for many years, as lattice thermal conductivity is typically reduced as unit cell complexity increases.  Here we present the growth, crystal structure, and physical properties of single crystals of three complex, tin-containing materials with similar structural features in the Ln-Co-Sn and Ln-Ru-Sn (Ln = Gd, Tb, or Y) phase space.  The materials presented have varying unit cell complexities with primitive cell volumes of ~6700 �3, ~3300 �3, and ~1650 �3.  Additionally, two of the compounds presented represent new structure-types in the Ln-Ru-Sn phase space.  We examine the effects of complexity on the compounds' electronic properties and whether primitive cell volume relationship for lattice thermal conductivity is maintained for highly complex intermetallic compounds with comparable atomic mass elements and bonding characteristics.

Comparison of the crystal structures and transport properties of single crystals of three complex intermetallic Ln-M-Sn systems (Ln = Gd, Tb, or Y; M = Co or Ru)

244th National Meeting (2012)

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