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Simultaneous enhancement of thermoelectric performance and mechanical properties in lead-free cubic GeTe-based composite materials
Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 2025. Vol. 13. No. 41. P. 35284–35291.
GeTe is a promising mid-temperature thermoelectric material that exhibits excellent thermoelectric performance. However, the rhombohedral-to-cubic phase transition occurring near 700 K causes a change in the coefficient of thermal expansion, leading to internal stresses in the device and affecting its working efficiency. In this work, we reported the alloying of Ge0.81Mn0.15Bi0.04Te with AgSbTe2 to further reduce the phase transition temperature and optimize thermoelectric performance. The co-doping of Ag and Mn increased the effective mass of the density of states, resulting in an enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient. Moreover, the lattice thermal conductivity decreased due to the combined effects of various phonon scattering mechanisms. After alloying with AgSbTe2, the average ZTave value increased to 1.18 from 300 K to 773 K in cubic (Ge0.81Mn0.15Bi0.04Te)0.8(AgSbTe2)0.2 and, simultaneously, the Vickers microhardness was enhanced from 243 HV to 283 HV.
Lavrukhina E. A., Krasavin D. P., Krishtopenko S. S. et al., Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics 2026 Vol. 114 No. 22 Article 225414
We study coherent electric manipulation of magnetic field induced localized states at a double kink of a helical edge in a HgTe/CdHgTe quantum well. An in-plane magnetic field opens a gap in the one-dimensional (1D) edge spectrum, while changes in the edge orientation generate localized in-gap states at the kinks. We show that, for suitable ...
Added: October 19, 2026
Смерчанский П. С., Koledov V. V., Kamantsev A. P. et al., Physics of Metals and Metallography 2026 Vol. 127 No. 6-7 P. 689–693
Heusler alloys of the Ni2MnX family, where X = Ga, In, Sn, …, which have been shown to exhibit
giant magnetocaloric effect (MCE) and magnetically controlled shape memory effect due to thermoelastic
magnetostructural phase transition (MSPT), continue to attract attention. However, these functional properties are fully manifested in strong magnetic fields of at least several T. Currently, ...
Added: October 19, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Bataev V., Abramenkov A. et al., Computational and Theoretical Chemistry 2016 No. 1080 P. 23–32
Electronic state calculations, such as equilibrium geometry parameters, harmonic vibrational frequencies and potential barriers to conformational transitions (as well as conformer energy differences in excited states), using ab initio methods, such as MP2, CCSD(T), CASSCF, CASPT2 and MRCI, were carried out on the formamide molecule in the ground (S0) and the lowest excited singlet (S1) ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Bataev V. А., Godunov I. А., Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer 2016 Vol. 177 P. 291–300
For conformers of the N-methylformamide (HCONHCH3) molecule, calculations of equilibrium geometry parameters, harmonic vibration frequencies, energy differences and potential barriers to conformational transitions were performed in the ground (S0) and lowest excited singlet (S1) and triplet (T1) electronic states. In the S0 state, the molecule exists in trans and cis stable conformations (having Cs symmetry). ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Bataev V. А., Godunov I. А., Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer 2017 Vol. 192 P. 30–41
For acetamide molecule (CH3CONH2) in the ground (S0) and lowest excited singlet (S1) and triplet (T1) electronic states calculations of equilibrium geometry parameters, harmonic vibrational frequencies and barriers to conformational transitions (also conformer energy differences in excited states) using following ab initio methods: MP2, CCSD(T), CASSCF, CASPT2 and MRCI were performed. One-, two- and three-dimensional ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Bataev V. A., Godunov I. A., Computational and Theoretical Chemistry 2017 Vol. 1113 P. 82–93
Equilibrium geometry parameters, harmonic vibrational frequencies and barriers to conformational transitions and conformer energy differences for N-methylacetamide (CH3CONHCH3) molecule in S0, S1 and T1 electronic states were calculated in MP2 (S0) and CASPT2 (S1, T1) levels of theory. It is known that there are two planar (or effectively planar) conformers of N-methylacetamide in the ground ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Maslennikov D., Sosorev A. et al., The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2019 Vol. 10 No. 12 P. 3232–3239
Conformational space of polyphenylenevinylene oligomers is systematically investigated computationally at energies relevant for room temperature dynamics in a solvent and in a solid state. Our calculations show that optimal oligomer structures are essentially planar. However, lack of a deep minimum at the planar geometry allows for large molecular deformations even at very low temperatures. At ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Akkuratov A., Kuznetsov I. et al., Synthetic Metals 2020 Vol. 259 Article 116231
Four new conjugated polymers based on benzodithiophene, thiophene and 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole or 5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole were synthesized and investigated as absorber materials for organic photovoltaics. The effect of (bi)thiophene π-spacers and fluorine substitution on the physicochemical and optoelectronic properties of the polymers was revealed and correlations were drawn with their electrical characteristics in organic solar cells. In particular, ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Nuraliev M., Parashchuk O. et al., Journal of Chemical Physics 2020 Vol. 153 No. 17 Article 174303
Electron–phonon interaction strongly affects and often limits charge transport in organic semiconductors (OSs). However, approaches to its experimental probing are still in their infancy. In this study, we probe the local electron–phonon interaction (quantified by the charge-transfer reorganization energy) in small-molecule OSs by means of Raman spectroscopy. Applying density functional theory calculations to four series ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Akkuratov A., Nikitenko S. et al., Solar Energy 2020 Vol. 198 P. 605–611
One of the major challenges in the field of organic photovoltaics is associated with high-throughput manufacturing of efficient and stable organic solar cells. Practical realization of technologies for production of large-area organic solar cells requires the development of novel materials with a defined combination of properties ensuring sufficient reliability and scalability of the process in ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Klimovich I., Prudnov F. et al., Dyes and Pigments 2021 Vol. 185 Article 108899
A series of ten conjugated polymers incorporating in their molecular frameworks extended DADAD building blocks with thiophene donor (D) and either benzotriazole, benzoxadiazole, benzothiadiazole, difluorobenzothiadiazole or quinoxaline acceptor (A) units were synthesized and characterized. The optoelectronic properties of new polymers were computed and experimentally investigated revealing a good relationship, which can guide further rational design ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., Sosorev A., Parashchuk O. et al., Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2021 Vol. 23 No. 29 P. 15485–15491
Dynamic disorder manifested in fluctuations of charge transfer integrals considerably hinders charge transport in high-mobility organic semiconductors. Accordingly, strategies for suppression of the dynamic disorder are highly desirable. In this study, we suggest a novel promising strategy for suppression of dynamic disorder—tuning the molecular electrostatic potential. Specifically, we show that the intensities of the low-frequency ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Тукачев Н. В., González-Jiménez M., Ramakrishnan G. et al., Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2021 Vol. 23 No. 23 P. 13250–13260
Low-frequency vibrations play an essential role in biomolecular processes involving DNA such as gene expression, charge transfer, drug intercalation, and DNA–protein recognition. However, understanding the vibrational basis of these mechanisms relies on theoretical models due to the lack of experimental evidence. Here we present the low-frequency vibrational spectra of G-quadruplexes (structures formed by four strands ...
Added: October 14, 2026
Son A. G., Gushina V. A., Teplyakov E. A. et al., Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2026 Vol. 28 No. 33 P. 20162–20176
We report tunable structural and optical properties of Cs‑Pb‑Br nanomaterials, including the classic CsPbBr3 perovskite, and perovskite-inspired CsPb2Br5 and Cs4PbBr6 compounds. By systematically varying precursor composition, reaction conditions, and external stimuli, such as moisture and solvents, we achieve controlled formation and reversible phase transitions among these structures. Optical spectroscopy, combined with density functional theory, reveals ...
Added: July 31, 2026
Schneider M., Zaripov D., Dokin R. et al., Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation 2026 Vol. 22 No. 9 P. 4405–4414
Density functional theory (DFT) is the workhorse of modern reactions and materials modeling. While the exact functional remains unknown, many approximations to it have been constructed either by hand-crafting functional forms to satisfy exact constraints or by machine learning. In this work, we show how both of these approaches can be fused to build both ...
Added: June 26, 2026
Fortuna A. S., A.I. Kartsev, Gorshenkov M. V. et al., Journal of Alloys and Compounds 2026 Vol. 1070 Article 188711
The τ-phase in Mn-Al-Ga alloys is a promising candidate for rare-earth-free permanent magnets. This study re-veals that the τ(γ₂)-phase in rapidly quenched Mn55Al36Ga9 ribbons contains a high density of dislocations, which
form antiphase boundaries (APBs). Using transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory, we
demonstrate that Mn atoms at these APBs couple antiferromagnetically. This antiferromagnetic interaction is
identified ...
Added: June 2, 2026
Wary R. R., Mahato B., Sharma N. et al., The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2026 Vol. 17 No. 17 P. 5099–5107
Development of heterojunction materials is an efficient approach for enhancing photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical processes. We develop a ZnO/CuO heterojunction via Cu doping into a ZnO matrix. Structural characterization confirmed that Cu was effectively incorporated into ZnO without any structural changes. The improved optical properties and reduced charge carrier recombination of the doped samples were confirmed ...
Added: June 2, 2026
Dikhtievskaya K., Argunov E., Alexey I. Kartsev et al., The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2026 Vol. 17 No. 17 P. 4999–5004
In this study we revealed the effect of scandium doping on the electronic and superconducting properties of the MgB2 compound. Calculations demonstrate that Sc substitutes for Mg atoms, acting as an electron donor. Mg substitution diminishes the density of states in the σ-band and attenuates the electron–phonon coupling, thereby elucidating the reduction in critical temperature. Simultaneously, ...
Added: June 2, 2026
T.V. Pavlova, Shevlyuga V. M., Applied Surface Science 2026 Vol. 736 Article 166813
The objective of miniaturizing doped areas in silicon, with the ultimate goal of achieving atomic-precision doping, requires a fundamental understanding of the dopant incorporation process at the atomic level. We present a combined scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) investigation of single phosphorus atom incorporation into the Si(100) surface. Phosphorus was supplied ...
Added: May 19, 2026
Paul R., Das A., Sharma N. et al., Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 2026 Vol. 728 Article 138830
Niobium-doped TiO2 (Nb-TiO2), demonstrates dual functionality as an efficient photocatalyst for dye degradation and a promising photoelectrocatalyst for water oxidation. Nb incorporation via a facile hydrothermal method was confirmed by XRD (Rietveld refinement), XPS, TEM, FT-IR, Raman, and BET analyses, indicating successful lattice doping and structural modification. Photocatalytic dye degradation experiments were conducted using a model ...
Added: May 16, 2026
Kartsev A., Сафронов А. А., Радиотехника и электроника 2024 Т. 69 № 10 С. 989–995
The first-principle modeling of two different quasi-two-dimensional phases based on the volume phases Cr2Te3 and CrTe3 is carried out. Structural relaxation of the obtained 2D compounds and their volumetric prototypes was performed within the framework of the density functional method and the projection plane wave method. Magnetic anisotropy in various crystallographic planes of quasi-two-dimensional structures and corresponding ...
Added: March 17, 2026
Zaman N., Li Y., Zheng T. et al., Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2026 Vol. 14 No. 25 P. 15971–15983
Interface engineering plays a critical role in determining the performance of lead sulfide (PbS) colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells. Defects and surface states at the PbS–electron transport layer (ETL) interface critically govern charge extraction and recombination processes. ZnMgO nanoparticles are widely employed as ETLs due to their high electron mobility and facile synthesis; however, ...
Added: March 1, 2026
Low-rank matrix and tensor approximations for compression of machine-learning interatomic potentials
Vorotnikov I., Romashov F., Rybin N. et al., Journal of Chemical Physics 2025 Vol. 163 No. 24 Article 244112
Machine-learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) have become a mainstay in computationally guided materials science, surpassing traditional force fields due to their flexible functional form and superior accuracy in reproducing physical properties of materials. This flexibility is achieved through mathematically rigorous basis sets that describe interatomic interactions within a local atomic environment. The number of parameters in ...
Added: January 4, 2026
Tissen M., Kushchuk L., Bagzhanov D. et al., The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2026 Vol. 17 No. 2 P. 466–475
Recently, there has been a lot of interest in two-dimensional materials with intrinsic magnetism as potential platforms for the next generation of spintronic devices. Structural defects, that is, point atomic defects in the crystal structure, play a significant role in modulating the electronic and magnetic properties of two-dimensional materials. To gain a better understanding of ...
Added: January 2, 2026