Effect of rattling motion without cage structure on lattice thermal conductivity in LaOBiSSe

Lee, C. H.*; Nishida, Atsuhiro*; Hasegawa, Takumi*; Nishiate, Hirotaka*; Kunioka, Haruno*; Kawamura, Seiko; Nakamura, Mitsutaka; Nakajima, Kenji; Mizuguchi, Yoshikazu*

Applied Physics Letters, 112(2), p.023903_1 - 023903_4, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5010373

Low energy phonons in LaOBiSSe are studied using inelastic neutron scattering. Dispersionless flat phonon branches that are mainly associated with a large vibration of Bi atoms are observed at a relatively low energy of = 6 - 6.7 meV. The phonon energy softens upon Se doping owing to its heavier atomic mass than S atom and the expansion of lattice constant. Simultaneously, the lattice thermal conductivity lowered upon Se doping as the same manner of the phonon softening. These suggest that despite the lack of an oversized cage in LaOBiSSe, rattling motions of Bi atoms can scatter phonon like rattling in cage compounds, contributing to enhance the thermoelectric property.