YB48 the metal rich boundary of YB66; crystal growth and thermoelectric properties

It was discovered that the well-known higher boride YB66, one of the first reported phonon glass electron crystals (PGEC), could be obtained in a much more metal-rich composition than previously thought possible. Using the floating zone growth method, YB48 single crystals with YB66 crystal structure could be obtained, and their thermoelectric properties measured. This expansion of the homogeneity range of the well-known YB66 compound is surprising and a new Y atomic site was discovered. YB48 exhibits much higher power factors than YB66 which increase rapidly with increasing temperature. The obtained dimensionless figure of merit of this compound at 990 K is approximately 30 times higher than that of previously reported YB66 samples, and higher than any other pristine higher boride. This discovery reveals YB48 as a promising high temperature thermoelectric material.