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    Peculiarities of Electrical Switching and Phase Transition Dynamics in Bismuth-Infused Se-Te Chalcogenide Glasses: From Bulk to Thin Film Devices
    (American Chemical Society, 2024) Joshi, S.; Rodney, J.D.; Udayashankar, N.K.
    Herein, the electrical switching behavior of both bulk and thin film forms of Se86-xTe14Bix (0 ≤ x ≤ 4) chalcogenide glasses was investigated. The melt-quench-derived glasses were found to be amorphous, and the switching behavior exhibited a threshold-type response below a certain current limit (Ith) for bismuth (Bi)-doped bulk samples. Interestingly, as current levels surpassed this threshold, a noteworthy change occurred in the switching behavior, converting it into a memory-type response. The threshold voltage (Vth) exhibited a decreasing trend from ∼228 V to ∼36 V with an increasing Bi content, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was utilized to study the phase transition phenomena and thermal stability of the amorphous glasses. These DSC results unequivocally confirmed that the transition from amorphous to crystalline phase occurred readily and at lower temperatures in the Se82Te14Bi4 composition. Furthermore, annealing studies were carried out to gain insight into the phase transformations that occur when the material makes the transition from an amorphous to a crystalline state. Subsequently, the same melt-quench-derived glasses were deposited as a thin film using physical vapor deposition (PVD) into a three-layered Al/Se-Te-Bi/Al device, and the memory switching voltage experienced a remarkable drop to 2.88 V compared to the bulk material. This exploration sheds light on the captivating electrical switching behavior of Se86-xTe14Bix chalcogenide glasses and holds promise for potential applications spanning the realm of emerging electronics and phase change material (PCM) devices. © 2024 American Chemical Society.
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    Sustained hydrogen production through alkaline water electrolysis using Bridgman–Stockbarger derived indium-impregnated copper chromium selenospinel
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Jauhar, R.M.; Raji, R.; Deepapriya, S.; Raja, A.; Rao, L.; Joshi, S.; Era, P.; Badekai Ramachandra, B.R.; Udayashankar, N.K.; Vadivel, V.; Mangalaraja, R.V.; J, J.; Ghfar, A.A.; Senthilpandian, M.; Kim, B.C.; Rodney, J.D.
    The depletion of conventional fossil fuels necessitates the development of sustainable energy alternatives, with electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen (H2) production being a promising solution. However, large-scale hydrogen generation is hindered by the scarcity of cost-effective electrocatalysts to replace noble metals such as Pt and RuO2 in the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). In this study, we report the synthesis of CuCr2-xInxSe4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4) using a dual approach combining the Bridgman-Stockbarger method and ball milling. Among the synthesized materials, CuCr1.8In0.2Se4 demonstrates outstanding HER activity in 1.0 M KOH, achieving a potential of ?0.16 V vs. RHE at a current density of 10 mA cm?2. Moreover, the material shows remarkable durability during a three-electrode accelerated degradation test in an alkaline medium, maintaining its performance over 24 h at a constant current density of ?200 mA cm?2, with a stable potential of ?0.57 V vs. RHE. Additionally, CuCr1.8In0.2Se4 was tested in a two-electrode configuration alongside CoFe LDH, achieving a benchmark of 1.7 V for overall water splitting. It sustained a current density of 400 mA cm?2 for 24 h in an accelerated degradation test, exhibiting a minimal loss of 0.1 V after the testing period. These results highlight CuCr1.8In0.2Se4 as a promising non-noble metal catalyst for HER, demonstrating its potential to reduce reliance on noble materials for large-scale hydrogen production. © 2024 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC
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    Defect-engineered single crystal Bi2Te3 via Sb and Se doping for enhanced thermoelectric performance
    (Springer, 2025) Puthran, S.; Hegde, G.S.; Prabhu, A.N.; Wang, Y.-L.; Kuo, Y.K.; Joshi, S.; Udayashankar, N.K.; Nayak, R.
    The limitation of the single crystal melt growth method to tune the microstructure of the materials in a controlled way and the need for enhancing the thermoelectric properties of single crystal grown Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3), through defect and microstructural engineering, has motivated this work. In this work, we address this limitation through a controlled doping strategy using antimony (Sb) and selenium (Se) to introduce targeted defects and microstructural modifications within single-crystalline Bi2Te3. Sb and Se substitutions create atomic scale strain, point defects, and micro-grain structures, enhancing phonon scattering without significantly disrupting the crystalline order. The resulting defect-engineered single crystals exhibit improved thermoelectric performance, with a notable reduction in lattice thermal conductivity and retention of excellent electrical properties. The co-doped compositions, Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 and (Bi0.98Sb0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3, exhibited significantly enhanced thermoelectric performance, with Seebeck coefficients reaching ~ 253 ?V/K and ? 211 ?V/K, respectively, over the 10–400 K range. The power factor improved remarkably, showing a ~ 30-fold increase for Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 and ~ 20-fold for the Sb-doped variant, while the figure of merit (ZT) improved by ~ 28.5 and ~ 14 times, respectively. Further, a flexible thermoelectric device fabricated from these optimized materials generated output power of 2.7 nW and 3.35 nW at ambient temperature. The non-monotonic variation of the Seebeck coefficient with Sb content, showing an optimal enhancement at x = 0.04, highlights the delicate balance between carrier concentration and band structure modification, emphasizing moderate Sb substitution achieves the most favorable conditions for thermoelectric performance. Our results present a scalable strategy for bridging the performance gap between pristine single crystals and heavily nanostructured thermoelectrics, opening new avenues for high-efficiency energy harvesting devices. © The Author(s) 2025.
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    Optimizing thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 via Sb and Se Co-doping: experimental insights and finite elemental simulations using COMSOL
    (Springer, 2025) Puthran, S.; Prabhu, A.N.; Kamble, M.; Babu, P.D.; Joshi, S.; Udayashankar, N.K.
    In this study, we investigated the impact of antimony (Sb) and selenium (Se) co-dopants on the thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3). Our findings reveal that Sb doping significantly enhances the electrical conductivity of the material, increasing it by a factor of 2.83 for (Bi0.98Sb0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3, primarily due to an increase in carrier concentration. The electrical resistivity of pristine Bi2Te3 at 300 K is 2.79 × 10?4 ?·m, which decreases substantially to 0.006 × 10?4 ?·m at 303 K with Sb doping at x = 0.02. Additionally, (Bi0.96Sb0.04)2Te2.7Se0.3 composition achieves the highest power factor of 9.744 × 10?5 W/m·K2 at 300 K, a 3-times improvement over the pristine Bi2Te3 (3.143 × 10?5 W/m·K2). The ZT value of Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 is 3.5 times higher than that of the pristine material at 350 K. COMSOL simulations support the experimental findings, revealing a maximum temperature gradient of 35 °C (hot end: 20 °C, cold end: ? 15 °C) for the (Bi0.98Sb0.02)2Te2.7Se0.3 module with comparable p-type and n-type parameters. The increased temperature gradient in the COMSOL simulation correlates with the improved thermoelectric performance observed experimentally, indicating that co-doping Bi2Te3 with Sb and Se effectively enhances its thermoelectric properties. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.