The thermoelectric properties from 300 - 1275 K of calcium-doped La_3-xTe₄ are reported. La_3-xTe₄ is a high temperature n-type thermoelectric material with a previously reported zT_max ~ 1.1 at 1273 K and x = 0.23. Computational modeling suggests the La atoms define the density of states of the conduction band for La_3-xTe₄. Doping with Ca²⁺ on the La³⁺ site is explored as a means of modifying the density of states to improve the power factor and to achieve a finer control over the carrier concentration. High purity, oxide-free samples are produced by ball milling of the elements and consolidation by spark plasma sintering. Calcium substitution upon the lanthanum site was confirmed by a combination of Rietveld refinements of powder X-ray diffraction data and wave dispersive spectroscopy. A zT_max ~ 1.2 is reached at 1273 K for the composition La_2.2Ca_0.78Te₄ and the relative increase compared to La_3-xTe₄ is attributed to the finer carrier concentration.

α-Glycine is studied up to 50 GPa using synchrotron angle-dispersive X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and quantum chemistry calculations performed at multiples levels of theory. Results from both XRD and Raman experiments reveal an extended pressure stability of the α phase up to 50 GPa and the room temperature (RT) equation of state (EOS) was determined up to this pressure. This extended stability is corroborated by density functional theory (DFT) based calculations using the USPEX evolutionary structural search algorithm. Two calculated EOSs, as determined by DFT at T = 0 K and semiempirical density functional tight-binding (DFTB) at RT, and the calculated Raman modes frequencies show a good agreement with the corresponding experimental results. Our work provides a definitive phase diagram and EOS for α-glycine up to 50 GPa, which informs prebiotic synthesis scenarios that can involve pressures well in excess of 10 GPa.