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Zhao et al. reply

Nature volume 539, pages E2–E3 (2016)Cite this article

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replying to P.-C. Wei et al. Nature 539, 10.1038/nature19832 (2016)

In the accompanying Comment, Wei et al.1 point out that the sample density used to obtain the thermal conductivity value of SnSe crystals is about 10% lower than the theoretical value ρth and as a result the thermal conductivity is underestimated by about 10%. The data published in ref. 2 are not based on a single measurement or on a single specimen. In the supplementary information of ref. 2 we reported measurements for at least seven crystals with good reproducibility. The material is not a conventional crystal and has several unusual and confusing features, such as the crystallographic phase transition (causing numerous microcracks) and a tendency to oxidation3,4,5,6. The SnSe crystal also has strong anisotropy and weak mechanical properties, leading to facile cleavage so that the crystal can easily be damaged during cutting and handling. In addition, challenging measurements of this type (that is, thermoelectric measurements on cut single crystals) can show a statistical spread and the error in the measurement of thermal conductivity is typically between 15% and 20% (ref. 7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, 60208, Illinois, USA

    Li-Dong Zhao, Gangjian Tan & Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, 60208, Illinois, USA

    Shih-Han Lo, Yongsheng Zhang, C. Wolverton, Vinayak P. Dravid & Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

  3. Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109, Michigan, USA

    Hui Sun

  4. Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109, Michigan, USA

    Ctirad Uher

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Zhao, LD., Lo, SH., Zhang, Y. et al. Zhao et al. reply. Nature 539, E2–E3 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19833

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