Anomalous transport and thermoelectric performances of CuAgSe compounds

Abstract

The copper silver selenide has two phases: the low-temperature semimetal phase ({\alpha}-CuAgSe) and high-temperature phonon-glass superionic phase (\b{eta}-CuAgSe). In this work, the electric transport and thermoelectric properties of the two phases are investigated. It is revealed that the \b{eta}-CuAgSe is a p-type semiconductor and exhibits low thermal conductivity while the {\alpha}-CuAgSe shows metallic conduction with dominant n-type carriers and low electrical resistivity. The thermoelectric figure of merit zT of the polycrystalline \b{eta}-CuAgSe at 623 K is ~0.95, suggesting that superionic CuAgSe can be a promising thermoelectric candidate in the intermediate temperature range.