Thermal and electrical transport properties of Ag-In-Yb quasicrystals: An experimental study

The thermal and electrical transport properties, including electrical resistivity (rho), thermopower (S), and thermal conductivity (kappa) of Ag42In42Yb16, Ag42.25In42.25Yb15.5, and Ag42.5In42.5Yb15 icosahedral quasicrystals (QCs) are reported. Great similarities were found in measured transport properties between these ternary and their binary analogies Cd-Yb QC's. This finding indicates that the complete replacement of Cd by equal amount of Ag-In does not alter the electronic band structure significantly. Comparison between the previously reported binary Cd-Yb QC, Cd6Yb cubic approximant, and present ternary Ag-In-Yb QC suggests that the peculiar transport properties observed in the quasicrystalline Cd-Yb alloys may not be due to chemical disorder or quasiperiodicity. These findings provide valuable information for better understanding of the transport properties in quasicrystalline alloys.