{
  "abstract": "The synthesis of phase-pure Cu-based multinary tellurides remains challenging due to the competitive formation of stable Cu–Te binary phases, which frequently intercept the reaction pathway as secondary products. In the Cu 4 TiTe 4 system, rapid synthesis temperature mapping reveals the synthesis window, whereas precise compositional control suppresses secondary Cu–Te binaries to unlock non-equilibrium phase selection. We demonstrate that addition of 2 wt% excess Ti shifts the reaction chemistry toward Cu 4 TiTe 4 , suppressing detectable Cu–Te secondary phases and yielding phase-pure Cu 4 TiTe 4 over the identified 623–873 K synthesis window. Cu 4 TiTe 4 crystallises in a ‘stuffed sulvanite’ type structure, similar to Cu 4 TiSe 4 , and exhibits an order–disorder phase transition, in which partial ordering of the Cu sublattice induces structural transformation primarily governed by Cu sublattice ordering. Bulk Cu 4 TiTe 4 is a p-type narrow bandgap semiconductor that achieves a low lattice thermal conductivity of 0.63 to 0.68 W m -1 K -1 between 300 and 423 K. Transport calculations attribute the low observed thermal conductivity to Cu-sublattice disorder, local symmetry breaking, and localized Ti-dominated vibrations that collectively suppress phonon transport.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798",
    "Department of Chemistry",
    "Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur",
    "Institute of Materials Research and Engineering",
    "Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR",
    "Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13, Nishi 8, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, 060-8628"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jayanta Dutta",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-9140-4825"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Arnab Dutta",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4748-049X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Haiwen Dai",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2379-5144"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wei Nong",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6838-7155"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sandip Kumar Kuila",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3348-5820"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Andy Paul Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7441-1174"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Durga Venkata Maheswar Repaka",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3917-0229"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Pawan Kumar",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9772-5638"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chenguang Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4658-5633"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lennard Yeo Sheng Yin",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-9309-3551"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Achintya Lakshan",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6755-1574"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Akira Miura",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0388-9696"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Partha Pratim Jana",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1348-4150"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Kedar Hippalgaonkar",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1270-9047"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7c5b76padp12k.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15011168/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "7c5b76padp12k",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011168/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices"
    ]
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  "openalex": "W7224134261",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011168/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-27",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7c5b76padp12k.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:26Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15011168",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011168/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2505|Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Phase-Controlled Synthesis and Low Thermal Conductivity in Cu ₄ TiTe ₄",
  "title_text": "Phase-Controlled Synthesis and Low Thermal Conductivity in Cu ₄ TiTe ₄",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:26Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7c5b76padp12k",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}