K 8 Al 8 Si 38 , a new type I clathrate

1. Synthesis of New Phases for Thermoelectric Applications Susan M. Kauzlarich, University of California-Davis, DMR 1100313 Thermoelectric devices provide a reliable means of generating electricity from waste heat. Investigating new phases and tuning their properties to achieve a high thermoelectric efficiency is an important area of investigation Clathrate compounds, with their cage framework and rattling guest atoms, have already proven to be good thermoelectric materials. Pure samples of the new clathrate K8Al8Si38 have been successfully synthesized and will be investigated for thermoelectric properties. Compounds of Eu11-xAxCd6-yMySb12-zAsz (A=La and Ce, M= Ga, Zn, Mn and Cu) were of interest due to their high tunability. The synthesis of these compounds resulted in the formation of the new phase Eu7Cd4Sb8-xAsx which will be further investigated for its thermoelectric properties. K8Al8Si38, a new type I clathrate The new phase Eu7Cd4Sb8-xAsx was formed during the synthesis of Eu11Cd6Sb12-xAsx

2. Broader Impacts: Mentoring and Collaboration on Yb14MnSb11 ProjectsSusan M. Kauzlarich, University of California-Davis, DMR 1100313 Sebastian Klemenz from Darmstadt University, Germany, has spent a year in our lab in a collaborative effort with Prof. Albert investigating the effects of substitution in the compounds Yb14-xRxMnSb11 (with R = rare earth element). Undergraduate Aajan Quail-Dehesh, soon to be starting his second year at UCLA, has been working with our lab in a collaboration with Professor Ruxandra Vidu from the Material Science department at UC Davis. Preparing nanowires. Aajan Quail-Dehesh loads a reaction in the glove box Sebastian Klemenz centrifuges a flux reaction Nasrin Kazem presents a poster of Sn-Flux synthesis and magnetic properties of Eu11Cd6Sb12-xAsx at Rare Earth Research  Conference  in Santa Fe, NM in Spring 2011 Solid state models used in teaching Undergraduate, Antonio Hurtado, is loading a Sn-Flux reaction in the glove box