Solving the disordered structure of $\beta$-Cu$_{2-x}$Se using the three-dimensional difference pair distribution function

Abstract

High-performing thermoelectric materials such as Zn$_4$Sb$_3$ and clathrates have atomic disorder as the root to their favorable properties. This makes it extremely difficult to understand and model their properties at a quantitative level, and thus effective structure-property relations are challenging to obtain. Cu$_{2-x}$Se is an intensely studied, cheap and non-toxic high performance thermoelectric, which exhibits highly peculiar transport properties, especially around the $\beta$ to $\alpha$ phase transition around 400 K, which must be related to the detailed nature of the crystal structure. Attempts to solve the crystal structure of the low temperature phase, $\beta$-Cu$_{2-x}$Se, have been unsuccessful since 1936. So far all studies have assumed that $\beta$-Cu$_{2-x}$Se has a three-dimensional periodic structure, but here we show that the structure is ordered only in two dimensions while being disordered in the third dimension with a highly disordered stacking sequence. Using the three-dimensional difference pair distribution function (3D-$\Delta$PDF) analysis method for diffuse single crystal X-ray scattering, we solve the structure of the ordered layer and show that there are two modes of stacking disorder present, which give rise to an average structure with higher symmetry. The present approach allows for a direct solution of structures with disorder in some dimensions and order in others. The local and extended structure of a solid determines its properties and Cu$_{2-x}$Se represents an example of a high-performing thermoelectric material where the local atomic structure differs significantly from the average periodic structure observed from Bragg crystallography.