Thermal conductivity of bulk and monolayer MoS₂

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE) Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

Received: 5 December 2015
Accepted: 11 February 2016

Abstract

We show that the lattice contribution to the thermal conductivity of MoS₂ strongly dominates the carrier contribution in a broad temperature range from 300 to 800 K. Since theoretical insight into the lattice contribution is largely missing, though it would be essential for materials design, we solve the Boltzmann transport equation for the phonons self-consistently in order to evaluate the phonon lifetimes. In addition, the length scale for transition between diffusive and ballistic transport is determined. The low out-of-plane thermal conductivity of bulk MoS₂ ( at 300 K) is useful for thermoelectric applications. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of monolayer MoS₂ ( at 300 K) is comparable to that of Si.