Large thermoelectric power factors in black phosphorus and phosphorene

The electronic properties of the layered black phosphorus (black-P) and its monolayer counterpart phosphorene are investigated by using the first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). The room-temperature electronic transport coefficients are evaluated within the semi-classical Boltzmann theory. The electrical conductivity exhibits anisotropic behavior while the Seebeck coefficient is almost isotropic. At the optimal doping level and room temperature, bulk black-P and phosphorene are found to have large thermoelectric power factors of 118.4 and 138.9 μWcm-1K-2, respectively. The maximum dimensionless figure of merit (ZT value) of 0.22 can be achieved in bulk black-P by appropriate n-type doping, primarily limited by the reducible lattice thermal conductivity. For the phosphorene, the ZT value can reach 0.30 conservatively estimated by using the bulk lattice thermal conductivity. Our results suggest that both bulk black-P and phosphorene are potentially promising thermoelectric materials.

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