Controlled Phonon Transport via Chemical Bond Stretching and Defect Engineering: The Case Study of Filled β-Mn-Type Phases

Controlling the elastic properties of the material could become a powerful tool for tuning the thermal transport in solids. Nevertheless, the impact of the crystal structure, chemical bonding, and elastic properties on the lattice thermal conductivity remains to be elucidated. This is a pivotal issue for the advancement of thermoelectric (TE) materials. In this context, the influence of cation substitution in tetrahedral voids on the structural, thermal, and TE properties of α- and β-Pb