Room-temperature plasticity in Ag<sub>2</sub>Te induced by Ag ions hopping.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41644544.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-69298-z and PMC identifier 12988223.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
The discovery of silver chalcogenides ductile semiconductors with high room-temperature plasticity holds significant promise for the development of bendable thermoelectric and electronic devices. However, the atomic-scale origins of their plasticity, ranging from dislocation slip to sublattice amorphization, remain diverse and material-specific. Here, we report a distinct deformation mechanism in Ag<sub>2</sub>Te through stress-driven and ionic-hop-mediated domain rotation. By in-situ scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM), we directly observe the hopping of Ag ions to adjacent vacancies stabilizes the deformed Te-sublattice and facilitates a coordinated ~92.2° lattice rotation that accommodates substantial plastic strain. This mechanism, which preserves long-range crystallinity, contrasts with both traditional dislocation-mediated plasticity and stress-induced amorphization pathways. Combined with its excellent thermoelectric performance (ZT value of ~0.67) at room temperature, Ag<sub>2</sub>Te emerges as a promising flexible electronic material.