Abstract
The anomalous glass-like thermal conductivity of crystalline clathrates has been suggested to be the result of the scattering of thermal phonons of the framework by ‘rattling’ motions of the guests in the clathrate cages. Using the site-specific 83Kr nuclear resonant inelastic scattering spectroscopy in combination with conventional incoherent inelastic neutron scattering and molecular-dynamics simulations, we provide unambiguous evidence and characterization of the effects on these guest–host interactions in a structure-II Kr clathrate hydrate. The resonant scattering of phonons led to unprecedented large anharmonic motions of the guest atoms. The anharmonic interaction underlies the anomalous thermal transport in this system. Clathrates are prototypical models for a class of crystalline framework materials with glass-like thermal conductivity. The explanation of the unusual molecular dynamics has a wide implication for the understanding of the thermal properties of disordered solids and structural glasses.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Keppens, V. et al. Localized vibrational modes in metallic solids. Nature 395, 876–878 (1998).
Slack, G. in CRC Handbook of Thermoelectrics (ed. Rowe, D. M.) (CRC, Boca Raton, 1995).
Tse, J. S. Dynamical properties and stability of clathrate hydrates. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 715, 187–206 (1994).
Slack, G. Design concepts for improved thermoelectric materials. Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 478, 47–54 (1997).
Tse, J. S. & White, M. A. The origin of the glassy crystalline behaviour in the thermal properties of clathrate hydrates: a thermal conductivity study of tetrahydrofuran hydrate. J. Phys. Chem. 92, 5006 (1988).
Tse, J. S. et al. Structural principles and amorphous like thermal conductivity of Na-doped Si clathrates. Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 114–117 (2000).
Nolas, G. S. et al. Thermal conductivity of elemental crystalline silicon clathrate Si136 . Appl. Phys. Lett. 82, 910 (2003).
Murashov, V. V. & White, M. A. Thermal properties of zeolites: effective thermal conductivity of dehydrated powdered zeolite 4A. Mater. Chem. Phys. 75, 178–180 (2002).
Feldman, J. L., Singh, D. J., Mazin, I. I., Mandrus, D. & Sales, B. C. Lattice dynamics and reduced thermal conductivity of filled skutterudites. Phys. Rev. B 61, R9209–R9212 (2000).
Andersson, O., Murashov, V. & White, M. A. Thermal conductivity and heat capacity of Dianin’s clathrates under pressure. J. Phys. Chem. B 106, 192–196 (2002).
Johari, G. P. Low-energy exitations of guest molecules in clathrates and the boson peak. Chem. Phys. 287, 273 (2003).
Blake, N. P., Mollnitz, L., Kress, G. & Metiu, H. Why clathrates are good thermoelectrics: A theoretical study of Sr8Ga16Ge30 . J. Chem. Phys. 111, 3133–3144 (1999).
Nolas, G. S., Cohn, J. L., Slack, G. L. & Schujman, S. B. Semiconducting Ge clathrates: Promising candidates for thermoelectric applications. Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 178–180 (1999).
Sloan, E. D. Clathrate Hydrates of Natural Gases (Decker, New York, 1998).
Ripmeester, J. A., Ratcliffe, C. I., Klug, D. D. & Tse, J. S. Molecular perspectives on structure and dynamics in clathrates hydrates. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 715, 161–176 (1994).
Loveday, J. S. et al. Stable methane hydrate above 2 GPa and the source of Titan’s atmospheric methane. Nature 410, 661–663 (2001).
Tse, J. S. et al. Coupling of localized guest vibrations with the lattice modes in clathrate hydrates. Europhys. Lett. 54, 354–356 (2001).
Inoue, R., Tanaka, H. & Nakanishi, K. Molecular dynamics simulation study of the anomalous thermal conductivity of clathrate hydrates. J. Chem. Phys. 104, 9569–9577 (1996).
Andersson, O. & Suga, H. Thermal conductivity of normal and deuterated tetrahydrofuran clathrate hydrates. J. Phys. Chem. Solids 57, 125–132 (1996).
Baumert, J. et al. Lattice dynamics of methane and xenon hydrate: Observation of symmetry-avoided crossing by experiment and theory. Phys. Rev. B 68, 174301 (2003).
Nolas, S., Fessatidis, V., Metcalf, T. H. & Slack, G. A. Glasslike heat conduction in high-mobility crystalline semiconductors. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 779–782 (1999).
Sturhahn, W. et al. Phonon density of states measured by inelastic nuclear resonant scattering. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 3832–3835 (1995).
Zhao, J., Toellner, T. S., Hu, M. H., Sturhahn, W. & Alp, E. E. High-energy-resolution monochromator for 83Kr nuclear resonant scattering. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 1608–1610 (2002).
Handa, Y. P. Calorimetric determinations of the compositions, enthalpies of dissociation, and heat capacities in the range 85 to 270 K for clathrate hydrates of xenon and krypton. J. Chem. Thermodyn. 18, 891–902 (1986).
Gutt, C., Baumert, J., Press, W., Tse, J. S. & Janssen, S. The vibrational properties of xenon hydrate: An inelastic incoherent neutron scattering study. J. Chem. Phys. 116, 3795–3799 (2002).
Sturhahn, W. CONUSS and PHOENIX: Evaluation of nuclear resonant scattering data. Hyperfine Interactions 125, 149–172 (2000).
Hansen, J. P. & McDonald, I. R. Theory of Simple Liquids (Academic, London, 1986).
Tse, J. S. & Klein, M. L. Dynamical properties of the structure II hydrate of krypton. J. Phys. Chem. 91, 5789–5792 (1987).
Sturhahn, W. & Kohn, V. G. Theoretical aspects of incoherent nuclear resonant scattering. Hyperfine Interactions 123/124, 367–399 (1999).
Tse, J. S., Ratcliffe, C. I., Powell, B. M., Sears, V. & Handa, Y. P. Rotational and translational motions of trapped methane. Incoherent and inelastic neutron scattering of methane hydrate. J. Phys. Chem. A 101, 4491–4495 (1997).
Krivchikov, A. I., Manzhelii, V. G., Korolyuk, O. A., Gorodilov, B. Ya. & Romantsova, O. O. Thermal conductivity of tetrahydrofuran hydrate. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 7, 728–730 (2005).
Wybourne, M. N., Kiff, B. J. & Batchelder, D. N. Anomalous thermal conduction in polydiacetylene single crystals. Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 580–583 (1984).
Acknowledgements
We thank T. Toellner, A. Said and A. Alatas of the Advanced Photon Source for their help during the experiment. Use of the Advanced Photon Source is supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, under Contract no. W-31-109-ENG-38.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tse, J., Klug, D., Zhao, J. et al. Anharmonic motions of Kr in the clathrate hydrate. Nature Mater 4, 917–921 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1525
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1525
This article is cited by
-
Entropy compartmentalization stabilizes open host–guest colloidal clathrates
Nature Chemistry (2023)
-
The origin of the lattice thermal conductivity enhancement at the ferroelectric phase transition in GeTe
npj Computational Materials (2021)
-
Phonon anharmonicity: a pertinent review of recent progress and perspective
Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy (2021)
-
Direct measurement of individual phonon lifetimes in the clathrate compound Ba7.81Ge40.67Au5.33
Nature Communications (2017)
-
Self-preservation and structural transition of gas hydrates during dissociation below the ice point: an in situ study using Raman spectroscopy
Scientific Reports (2016)