Transport and thermodynamic properties of quasi-two-dimensional purple bronzes A0.9Mo6O17 (A=Na, K)


Authors: Xiaofeng Xu, A. F. Bangura, C. Q. Niu, M. Greenblatt, Song Yue, C. Panagopoulos, and N. E. Hussey

Published in: Phys. Rev. B 85, 195101, 2012.


We report a comparative study of the specific heat, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity of the quasi-two-dimensional purple bronzes Na0.9Mo6O17 and K0.9Mo6O17, with special emphasis on the behavior near their respective charge-density-wave transition temperatures TP. The contrasting behavior of both the transport and the thermodynamic properties near TP is argued to arise predominantly from the different levels of intrinsic disorder in the two systems. A significant proportion of the enhancement of the thermal conductivity above TP in Na0.9Mo6O17, and to a lesser extent in K0.9Mo6O17, is attributed to the emergence of phason excitations.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.85.195101