2D copper-based semiconductors generally possess low lattice thermal conductivity due to their strong anharmonic scattering and quantum confinement effect, making them promising candidate materials in the field of high-performance thermoelectric devices. In this work, we proposed four 2D copper-based materials, namely CuSbS2, CuSbSe2, CuBiS2, and CuBiSe2. Based on the framework of density functional theory and Boltzmann transport equation, we revealed that the monolayers possess high stability and narrow band gaps of 0.57~1.10 eV. Moreover, the high carrier mobilities (102~103 cm2·V-1·s-1) of these monolayers lead to high conductivities (106~107 Ω-1·m-1) and high-power factors (18.04~47.34 mW/mK2). Besides, as the strong phonon-phonon anharmonic scattering, the monolayers also show ultra-low lattice thermal conductivities of 0.23~3.30 W/mK at 300 K. As results show, all the monolayers for both p-type and n-type simultaneously show high thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of about 0.91~1.53 at room temperature.
Keywords: 2D material; conductivity; figure of merit; power factor; spin-orbit effects.