Anisotropic thermoelectric and superconducting properties of the bulk misfit-layered (SnSe)1.17(TaSe2) compound

Abstract We present the thermoelectric and superconducting properties of the bulk misfit-layered (SnSe)1.17(TaSe2) compound with the critical temperature (Tc ~ 3.8 K). From XRD and electrical resistivity, the anisotropic properties of the misfit-layered compound by the preferred orientation were observed. The zero-temperature-limit upper critical field Hc2(0) and coherence length ξ are obtained by Hc2(0) = 8.94 T and ξ = 6.1 nm. The electron-phonon coupling constant (λe-p = 0.735) and the specific heat jump (ΔCe/γTc ~ 1.4) imply that the (SnSe)1.17(TaSe2) compound is a weak coupled conventional s-wave superconductor. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results show that some electronic charge transfers from the SnSe layers into the TaSe2 layers. In addition, the thermoelectric properties of the bulk misfit-layered (SnSe)1.17(TaSe2) compound show significant anisotropic properties.