Effects of pressure and temperature on the thermal conductivity of Sn2P2S6

The thermal conductivity kappa of the ferroelectric, paraelectric, and incommensurate phases of polycrystalline Sn2P2S6 has been measured in the 0.1-0.7 GPa range. The thermal conductivity kappa of the ferroelectric phase decreases with increasing pressure p. This unusual behavior, which is found in only a few other phases, is attributed to a negative Gruneisen parameter. The temperature T dependence of kappa for the ferroelectric phase (kappa similar to T-1) is well described by the Debye model for kappa, with three-phonon Umklapp scattering serving as the dominant scattering mechanism near and above the Debye temperature (similar to 100 K) up to a few tenths of degrees below the ferro- to paraelectric phase transition, where kappa(T) gradually changes and becomes temperature independent upon further heating. The thermal conductivity of the paraelectric and incommensurate phases was temperature independent and indistinguishable. Possible causes for the unusually weak T dependence at high temperatures and implications of the p dependence of kappa are discussed.