RT Journal Article T1 Structural evolution from neutron powder diffraction of nanostructured snte obtained by arc melting A1 Gainza, Javier A1 Serrano Sánchez, Federico A1 Rodrigues, Joao Elias F. S. A1 Dura, Óscar J. A1 Fragoso, Brenda A1 Ferrer, Mateus M. A1 Nemes, Norbert Marcel A1 Martínez, José Luis A1 Fernández Díaz, María T. A1 Alonso, José Antonio AB Among chalcogenide thermoelectric materials, SnTe is an excellent candidate for intermediate temperature applications, in replacement of toxic PbTe. We have prepared pure polycrystalline SnTe by arc melting, and investigated the structural evolution by temperature-dependent neutron powder diffraction (NPD) from room temperature up to 973 K. In this temperature range, the sample is cubic (space group Fm-3m) and shows considerably larger displacement parameters for Te than for Sn. The structural analysis allowed the determination of the Debye model parameters and provided information on the Sn-Te chemical bonds. SEM images show a conspicuous nanostructuration in layers below 30 nm thick, which contributes to the reduction of the thermal conductivity down to 2.5 W/m center dot K at 800 K. The SPS treatment seems to reduce the number of Sn vacancies, thus diminishing the carrier density and increasing the Seebeck coefficient, which reaches 60 mu V K^(-1) at 700 K, as well as the weighted mobility, almost doubled compared with that of the as-grown sample. PB MDPI SN 2073-4352 YR 2023 FD 2023-01 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73232 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73232 LA eng NO © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPIThis research was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) through grant numbers PID2021-122477OB-I00 and TED2021-129254B-C22, by the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior-Brazil (CAPES) under grant number 88887.603800/2021-00, and by the Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS) (21/2551-0000695-1). NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) / AEI NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)/NextGenerationEU NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)/FSE DS Docta Complutense RD 11 abr 2025