Exploring Exemplary Optoelectronic and Charge Transport Properties of KCuX(X=Se,Te)

Strain induced localization to delocalization transition on a Lieb photonic ribbon lattice

Ribbon lattices are kind of transition systems in between one and two dimensions, and their study is crucial to understand the origin of different emerging properties. In this work, we study a Lieb ribbon lattice and the localization-delocalization transition occurring due to a reduction of lattice distances (compression) and the corresponding flat band deformation. We observe how above a critical compression ratio the energy spreads out and propagates freely across the lattice, therefore transforming the system from being a kind of insulator into a conductor. We implement an experiment on a photonic platform and show an excellent agreement with the predicted phenomenology. Our findings suggest and prove experimentally the use of compression or mechanical deformation of lattices to switch the transport properties of a given system.

Ultralow lattice thermal conductivity and high thermoelectric performance of monolayer KCuTe: a first principles study

Monolayer KCuTe is a new-type of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor material with high carrier mobility and large power energy conversion efficiencies, suggesting its potential application in thermoelectric (TE) and photoelectric fields. Based on the density functional theory (DFT) and semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation, the electronic and phonon transport properties of monolayer KCuTe are systematically studied. Our results show that it possesses an ultralow lattice thermal conductivity value of nearly ∼0.13 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ at 300 K, mainly attributed to its small phonon group velocity, large Grüneisen parameters, and strong phonon–phonon scattering. Furthermore, the intralayer opposite phonon vibrations greatly restrict the heat transport. Monolayer KCuTe shows an ideal direct band gap of ∼1.21 eV, and a high twofold degeneracy appearing at the Γ point gives a high Seebeck coefficient of ∼2070 μV K⁻¹, leading to high TE performance. Using the transport coefficients together with constant electron relaxation time, the figure of merit (ZT) can reach 2.71 at 700 K for the p-type doping, which is comparable to the well-known TE material SnSe (2.6 ± 0.3 at 935 K). Our theoretical studies may provide perspectives to TE applications of monolayer KCuTe and stimulate further experimental synthesis.

The excellent thermoelectric performance of monolayer KCuTe is discovered by first-principles study for the first time.