First-principles study on anomalously high thermal conductivities in trirutile ternary oxides
Phys. Rev. B 112, 094310 – Published 15 September, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pvzp-bgj1
Abstract
Oxide materials, particularly ternary and quaternary oxides, typically exhibit low thermal conductivities. However, a recent experiment revealed that the trirutile compound possesses a relatively high lattice thermal conductivity of approximately at 323 K, significantly exceeding that of most ternary oxides. Here, we systematically investigate the lattice thermal conductivities of six trirutile materials using first-principles three-phonon calculations. For , the calculated room-temperature lattice thermal conductivities are 22.6 and along the and directions, respectively, in good agreement with the experimental data. By substituting lighter elements into , we predict that their lattice thermal conductivity can be further enhanced, potentially reaching at room temperatures. We show that the trirutile materials consistently exhibit higher lattice thermal conductivities than most other ternary oxides, despite their complex structures and the presence of heavy elements, primarily attributed to their high bulk moduli, reaching up to 240 GPa. This work provides valuable insights into the thermal and mechanical behavior of trirutile oxides, which may stimulate further theoretical and experimental investigations.