Effect of pressure on the transport properties and thermoelectric performance of Dirac semimetal ZrTe5

Sanskar Mishra; Nagendra Singh; V. K. Gangwar; Rajan Walia; Manindra Kumar; Udai Bhan Singh; Deepash Sekhar Saini; Jianping Sun; Genfu Chen; Dilip Bhoi; Sandip Chatterjee; Yoshiya Uwatoko; Jinguang Cheng; Prashant Shahi

doi:10.1103/53lr-gc9w

Effect of pressure on the transport properties and thermoelectric performance of Dirac semimetal ZrTe₅

Sanskar Mishra
, Nagendra Singh
, V. K. Gangwar
, Rajan Walia
, Manindra Kumar
, Udai Bhan Singh
, Deepash Sekhar Saini
, Jianping Sun
, Genfu Chen
, Dilip Bhoi
, Sandip Chatterjee
, Yoshiya Uwatoko
, Jinguang Cheng
, Prashant Shahi

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

ZrTe₅ has been extensively studied because of its novel topological properties, which are tunable by subjecting to various parameters like temperature, chemical synthesis conditions, and pressure. In this study, we have investigated and compared the effect of hydrostatic pressure up to ∼20 kbar on the transport properties of ZrTe₅ single crystals grown by chemical vapor transport (CVT) and flux methods.With the application of pressure, the electrical resistivity ρ(T) and thermopower S(T) of both crystals were found to increase in the whole temperature range unlike the other known thermoelectric materials, such as Bi₂Te₃, SnSe etc. This observation is supported by complementary first-principles band-structure calculations, as the application of pressure widens the direct band gap at Γ point. Moreover, the analysis of the pressure-dependent magnetotransport and Shubnikov-de Hass oscillation results revealed an increase in carrier concentration and effective mass along with reduction of mobility as pressure rises. Furthermore, with the application of pressure, the flux-grown ZrTe₅ crystals display a transition from unipolar to bipolar charge transport as evidenced by the emergence of a resistivity peak at T* under high pressure, unlike the CVT-grown ZrTe₅ crystals where the bipolar charge transport near its characteristic resistivity peak (Tp) remains unaffected. Our study also reveals a pressure-induced enhancement of T_p and T* for both crystals, suggesting an upward shift of the Fermi level upon compression. Additionally, for the CVT-grown ZrTe₅ crystals, the application of pressure nearly doubled the thermoelectric power factor (PF) at 18.2 kbar and room temperature. In contrast, for the flux-grown ZrTe₅ crystals, the PF varies weakly as the pressure is raised to 17 kbar. Our results underscore the role of crystal synthesis technique along with the application of pressure as an effective strategy to optimize the magnetotransport and thermoelectric performance of ZrTe₅.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	165140-1-165140-14
Journal	Physical Review B
Volume	112
Issue number	16
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/53lr-gc9w
State	Published - Oct 27 2025
Externally published	Yes

Funding

S.M. acknowledges support from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), India, for the Junior Research Fellowship (File No. SRG/2019/001187). V.K.G. acknowledges SERB India for the award of SERB International Research Experience (SIRE) fellowship (File No.- SIR/2022/000804). P.S. acknowledges SERB India for award of Start-Up Research Grant (SRG/2019/001187), University Grant Commission (UGC) for Basic Scientific Research (BSR) fund (UGC File No.- 30–505/2020(BSR)), UGC-DAE Centre for providing funds (CRS/2021–22/01/415) and SERB India for SERBSIRE fellowship (File No.- SIR/2022/000752). J.G.C. is supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2023YFA1406100, 2021YFA1400200), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12025408, U23A6003), and CAS PIFI program (2024PG0003). S.M. acknowledges support from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), India, for the Junior Research Fellowship (File No. SRG/2019/001187). V.K.G. acknowledges SERB India for the award of SERB International Research Experience (SIRE) fellowship (File No.-SIR/2022/000804). P.S. acknowledges SERB India for award of Start-Up Research Grant (SRG/2019/001187), University Grant Commission (UGC) for Basic Scientific Research (BSR) fund (UGC File No.-30–505/2020(BSR)), UGC-DAE Centre for providing funds (CRS/2021–22/01/415) and SERB India for SERB-SIRE fellowship (File No.-SIR/2022/000752). J.G.C. is supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2023YFA1406100, 2021YFA1400200), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12025408, U23A6003), and CAS PIFI program (2024PG0003).

Access to Document

10.1103/53lr-gc9w

Cite this

@article{29f0924f8eb544d09742a161d12ef03b,

title = "Effect of pressure on the transport properties and thermoelectric performance of Dirac semimetal ZrTe5",

abstract = "ZrTe5 has been extensively studied because of its novel topological properties, which are tunable by subjecting to various parameters like temperature, chemical synthesis conditions, and pressure. In this study, we have investigated and compared the effect of hydrostatic pressure up to ∼20 kbar on the transport properties of ZrTe5 single crystals grown by chemical vapor transport (CVT) and flux methods.With the application of pressure, the electrical resistivity ρ(T) and thermopower S(T) of both crystals were found to increase in the whole temperature range unlike the other known thermoelectric materials, such as Bi2Te3, SnSe etc. This observation is supported by complementary first-principles band-structure calculations, as the application of pressure widens the direct band gap at Γ point. Moreover, the analysis of the pressure-dependent magnetotransport and Shubnikov-de Hass oscillation results revealed an increase in carrier concentration and effective mass along with reduction of mobility as pressure rises. Furthermore, with the application of pressure, the flux-grown ZrTe5 crystals display a transition from unipolar to bipolar charge transport as evidenced by the emergence of a resistivity peak at T* under high pressure, unlike the CVT-grown ZrTe5 crystals where the bipolar charge transport near its characteristic resistivity peak (Tp) remains unaffected. Our study also reveals a pressure-induced enhancement of Tp and T* for both crystals, suggesting an upward shift of the Fermi level upon compression. Additionally, for the CVT-grown ZrTe5 crystals, the application of pressure nearly doubled the thermoelectric power factor (PF) at 18.2 kbar and room temperature. In contrast, for the flux-grown ZrTe5 crystals, the PF varies weakly as the pressure is raised to 17 kbar. Our results underscore the role of crystal synthesis technique along with the application of pressure as an effective strategy to optimize the magnetotransport and thermoelectric performance of ZrTe5.",

author = "Sanskar Mishra and Nagendra Singh and Gangwar, \{V. K.\} and Rajan Walia and Manindra Kumar and Singh, \{Udai Bhan\} and Saini, \{Deepash Sekhar\} and Jianping Sun and Genfu Chen and Dilip Bhoi and Sandip Chatterjee and Yoshiya Uwatoko and Jinguang Cheng and Prashant Shahi",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 American Physical Society",

year = "2025",

month = oct,

day = "27",

doi = "10.1103/53lr-gc9w",

language = "English",

volume = "112",

pages = "165140--1--165140--14",

journal = "Physical Review B",

issn = "2469-9950",

publisher = "American Physical Society",

number = "16",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of pressure on the transport properties and thermoelectric performance of Dirac semimetal ZrTe5

AU - Mishra, Sanskar

AU - Singh, Nagendra

AU - Gangwar, V. K.

AU - Walia, Rajan

AU - Kumar, Manindra

AU - Singh, Udai Bhan

AU - Saini, Deepash Sekhar

AU - Sun, Jianping

AU - Chen, Genfu

AU - Bhoi, Dilip

AU - Chatterjee, Sandip

AU - Uwatoko, Yoshiya

AU - Cheng, Jinguang

AU - Shahi, Prashant

PY - 2025/10/27

Y1 - 2025/10/27

N2 - ZrTe5 has been extensively studied because of its novel topological properties, which are tunable by subjecting to various parameters like temperature, chemical synthesis conditions, and pressure. In this study, we have investigated and compared the effect of hydrostatic pressure up to ∼20 kbar on the transport properties of ZrTe5 single crystals grown by chemical vapor transport (CVT) and flux methods.With the application of pressure, the electrical resistivity ρ(T) and thermopower S(T) of both crystals were found to increase in the whole temperature range unlike the other known thermoelectric materials, such as Bi2Te3, SnSe etc. This observation is supported by complementary first-principles band-structure calculations, as the application of pressure widens the direct band gap at Γ point. Moreover, the analysis of the pressure-dependent magnetotransport and Shubnikov-de Hass oscillation results revealed an increase in carrier concentration and effective mass along with reduction of mobility as pressure rises. Furthermore, with the application of pressure, the flux-grown ZrTe5 crystals display a transition from unipolar to bipolar charge transport as evidenced by the emergence of a resistivity peak at T* under high pressure, unlike the CVT-grown ZrTe5 crystals where the bipolar charge transport near its characteristic resistivity peak (Tp) remains unaffected. Our study also reveals a pressure-induced enhancement of Tp and T* for both crystals, suggesting an upward shift of the Fermi level upon compression. Additionally, for the CVT-grown ZrTe5 crystals, the application of pressure nearly doubled the thermoelectric power factor (PF) at 18.2 kbar and room temperature. In contrast, for the flux-grown ZrTe5 crystals, the PF varies weakly as the pressure is raised to 17 kbar. Our results underscore the role of crystal synthesis technique along with the application of pressure as an effective strategy to optimize the magnetotransport and thermoelectric performance of ZrTe5.

AB - ZrTe5 has been extensively studied because of its novel topological properties, which are tunable by subjecting to various parameters like temperature, chemical synthesis conditions, and pressure. In this study, we have investigated and compared the effect of hydrostatic pressure up to ∼20 kbar on the transport properties of ZrTe5 single crystals grown by chemical vapor transport (CVT) and flux methods.With the application of pressure, the electrical resistivity ρ(T) and thermopower S(T) of both crystals were found to increase in the whole temperature range unlike the other known thermoelectric materials, such as Bi2Te3, SnSe etc. This observation is supported by complementary first-principles band-structure calculations, as the application of pressure widens the direct band gap at Γ point. Moreover, the analysis of the pressure-dependent magnetotransport and Shubnikov-de Hass oscillation results revealed an increase in carrier concentration and effective mass along with reduction of mobility as pressure rises. Furthermore, with the application of pressure, the flux-grown ZrTe5 crystals display a transition from unipolar to bipolar charge transport as evidenced by the emergence of a resistivity peak at T* under high pressure, unlike the CVT-grown ZrTe5 crystals where the bipolar charge transport near its characteristic resistivity peak (Tp) remains unaffected. Our study also reveals a pressure-induced enhancement of Tp and T* for both crystals, suggesting an upward shift of the Fermi level upon compression. Additionally, for the CVT-grown ZrTe5 crystals, the application of pressure nearly doubled the thermoelectric power factor (PF) at 18.2 kbar and room temperature. In contrast, for the flux-grown ZrTe5 crystals, the PF varies weakly as the pressure is raised to 17 kbar. Our results underscore the role of crystal synthesis technique along with the application of pressure as an effective strategy to optimize the magnetotransport and thermoelectric performance of ZrTe5.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021376510

U2 - 10.1103/53lr-gc9w

DO - 10.1103/53lr-gc9w

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105021376510

SN - 2469-9950

VL - 112

SP - 165140-1-165140-14

JO - Physical Review B

JF - Physical Review B

IS - 16

ER -

Effect of pressure on the transport properties and thermoelectric performance of Dirac semimetal ZrTe₅

Abstract

Funding

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this