No Arabic abstract
We systematically investigated the geometric, electronic and thermoelectric (TE) properties of bulk black phosphorus (BP) under strain. The hinge-like structure of BP brings unusual mechanical responses such as anisotropic Youngs modulus and negative Poissons ratio. A sensitive electronic structure of BP makes it transform among metal, direct and indirect semiconductors under strain. The maximal figure of merit $ZT$ of BP is found to be 0.72 at $800,mathrm{K}$ that could be enhanced to 0.87 by exerting an appropriate strain, revealing BP could be a potential medium-high temperature TE material. Such strain-induced enhancements of TE performance are often observed to occur at the boundary of the direct-indirect band gap transition, which can be attributed to the increase of degeneracy of energy valleys at the transition point. By comparing the structure of BP with SnSe, a family of potential TE materials with hinge-like structure are suggested. This study not only exposes various novel properties of BP under strain, but also proposes effective strategies to seek for better TE materials.
The success of black phosphorus in fast electronic and photonic devices is hindered by its rapid degradation in presence of oxygen. Orthorhombic tin selenide is a representative of group IV-VI binary compounds that are robust, isoelectronic, and share the same structure with black phosphorus. We measured the band structure of SnSe and found highly anisotropic valence bands that form several valleys having fast dispersion within the layers and negligible dispersion across. This is exactly the band structure desired for efficient thermoelectric generation where SnSe has shown a great promise.
In a semimetal, both electron and hole carriers contribute to the density of states at the Fermi level. The small band overlaps and multi-band effects give rise to many novel electronic properties, such as relativistic Dirac fermions with linear dispersion, titanic magnetoresistance and unconventional superconductivity. Black phosphorus has recently emerged as an exceptional semiconductor with high carrier mobility and a direct, tunable bandgap. Of particular importance is the search for exotic electronic states in black phosphorus, which may amplify the materials potential beyond semiconductor devices. Here we show that a moderate hydrostatic pressure effectively suppresses the band gap and induces a Lifshitz transition from semiconductor to semimetal in black phosphorus; a colossal magnetoresistance is observed in the semimetallic phase. Quantum oscillations in high magnetic field reveal the complex Fermi surface topology of the semimetallic black phosphorus. In particular, a Dirac-like fermion emerges at around 1.2 GPa, which is continuously tuned by external pressure. The observed semi-metallic behavior greatly enriches black phosphoruss material property, and sets the stage for the exploration of novel electronic states in this material. Moreover, these interesting behaviors make phosphorene a good candidate for the realization of a new two-dimensional relativistic electron system, other than graphene.
Two-dimensional layered semiconductor black phosphorus (BP), a promising pressure induced Dirac system as predicted by band structure calculations, has been studied by $^{31}$P-nuclear magnetic resonance. Band calculations have been also carried out to estimate the density of states $D(E)$. The temperature and pressure dependences of nuclear spin lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ in the semiconducting phase are well reproduced using the derived $D(E)$, and the resultant pressure dependence of semiconducting gap is in good accordance with previous reports, giving a good confirmation that the band calculation on BP is fairly reliable. The present analysis of $1/T_1$ data with the complemental theoretical calculations allows us to extract essential information, such as the pressure dependences of $D(E)$ and chemical potential, as well as to decompose observed $1/T_1$ into intrinsic and extrinsic contributions. An abrupt increase in $1/T_1$ at 1.63GPa indicates that the semiconducting gap closes, resulting in an enhancement of conductivity.
We study theoretically the structural and electronic response of layered bulk black phosphorus to in-layer strain. Ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the strain energy and interlayer spacing display a strong anisotropy with respect to the uniaxial strain direction. To correctly describe the dependence of the fundamental band gap on strain, we used the computationally more involved GW quasiparticle approach that is free of parameters and superior to DFT studies, which are known to underestimate gap energies. We find that the band gap depends sensitively on the in-layer strain and even vanishes at compressive strain values exceeding about 2%, thus suggesting a possible application of black P in strain-controlled infrared devices.
Two-dimensional layered materials have attracted tremendous attentions due to their extraordinary physical and chemical properties. Using first-principles calculations and Boltzmann transport theory, we give an accurate prediction of the thermoelectric properties of boron phosphide (BP) bilayer, where the carrier relaxation time is treated within the framework of electron-phonon coupling. It is found that the lattice thermal conductivity of BP bilayer is much lower than that of its monolayer structure, which can be attributed to the presence of van der Waals interactions. On the other hand, the graphene-like BP bilayer shows very high carrier mobility with a moderate band gap of 0.88 eV. As a consequence, a maximum p-type ZT value of ~1.8 can be realized along the x-direction at 1200 K, which is amazingly high for systems consisting of light elements only. Moreover, we obtain almost identical p- and n-type ZT of ~1.6 along the y-direction, which is very desirable for fabrication of thermoelectric modules with comparative efficiencies. Collectively, these findings demonstrate great advantages of the layered structures containing earth-abundant elements for environment-friendly thermoelectric applications.