• Accepted Paper

Structure and high-temperature thermoelectric properties of Eu8GaxGe46−x

Jitong Song, Shuoxin Yuan, Xianteng Zhou, Yuanji Xu, and Lihua Liu

Phys. Rev. Materials - Accepted 14 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/35bq-fmxd

Abstract

The development of high-efficiency thermoelectric devices is a central challenge in energy-related research. Clathrate compounds provide an excellent platform for investigating the microscopic mechanisms governing thermoelectric performance owing to their unique crystal structures. In this work, we synthesized a series of Eu8GaxGe46−x samples (nominal x = 14.5–17.5) using vacuum arc melting followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetic measurements reveal a structural transition from the type-I (β-phase) to the type-VIII (α-phase) structure with increasing Ga content. High-temperature transport measurements conducted between 300 and 773 K show a clear semiconductor-to-metal transition as the Ga content decreases. For the first time, the high-temperature thermoelectric properties of this system are reported. A maximum thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of 0.54 is achieved at 623 K for a nominal Ga content of 16.5. To our knowledge, this ZT value is the highest reported experimentally for this material system to date. Complementary first-principles calculations demonstrate that lower Ga concentrations stabilize the β-phase, whereas higher Ga concentrations favor the α-phase. Moreover, the calculations reveal metallic behavior for the β-phase compositions with x = 14 and 15, while the α-phase composition with x = 16 is semiconducting with a band gap of 0.58 eV, in good agreement with experimental observations. The combined experimental and theoretical results elucidate the evolution of the electronic structure across the structural transition and provide valuable insight into the composition-dependent thermoelectric performance of this system.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation

If the author has provided any supplemental materials with this article they will be available upon publication of the version of record.

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation