Supercompliant and Soft ( CH3NH3 ) 3Bi2 I 9 Crystal with Ultralow Thermal Conductivity

In this Letter, we show the phonon dispersion of (CH_{3}NH_{3})_{3}Bi_{2}I_{9} single crystals at 300 K measured by inelastic x-ray scattering. The frequencies of acoustic phonons are among the lowest of crystals. Nanoindentation measurements verified that these crystals are very compliant and considerably soft. The frequency overlap between acoustic and optical phonons results in strong acoustic-optical scattering. All these features lead to an ultralow thermal conductivity. The fundamental knowledge obtained from this study will accelerate the design of novel hybrid materials for energy applications.