Electronic structure of thermoelectric Zn-Sb

The electronic structures of the two main compounds of the binary zinc antimonides that are stable at room temperature, Zn1Sb1 and beta-Zn4Sb3, were probed with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Additionally, electron energy loss measurements and density functional theory calculations are presented. The compounds are found to share a very similar electronic structure. They both feature only small charge transfers and differ moderately in their screening potentials. These results are in line with recent theoretical works on the Zn-Sb system and are discussed in light of the reported thermoelectric performance of the materials.