Thermoelectric performance of functionalized Sc2C MXenes

Abstract

Functionalization of the MXene Sc2C, which has the rare property to realize semiconducting states for various functionalizations including O, F, and OH, is studied with respect to the electronic and thermal behavior. The lowest lattice thermal conductivity is obtained for OH functionalization and an additional 30% decrease can be achieved by confining the phonon mean free path to 100 nm. Despite a relatively low Seebeck coefficient, Sc2C(OH)2 is a candidate for intermediate-temperature thermoelectric applications due to compensation by a high electrical conductivity and very low lattice thermal conductivity.