THE ELECTRONIC-PROPERTIES OF LIQUID AG1-XSEX

Measurements of the electrical conductivity sigma, thermoelectric power S and magnetic susceptibility of liquid Ag1-xSex alloys have been measured as a function of composition and temperature. The unusual maximum in sigma, along with the negative dsigma/dT observed around stoichiometry for Ag-S alloys is also observed in this system. The thermopower shows a p-n transition at x = 0.36 with a magnitude indicating that this is a liquid semiconductor with an essentially zero energy gap. It is demonstrated that the results cannot be explained using the Kubo-Greenwood expressions for sigma and S if rigid band behaviour is assumed. The origins of this unusual behaviour are discussed in terms of an enhanced carrier mobility near the stoichiometric composition.