Giant anisotropic in-plane thermal conduction induced by Anomalous phonons in pentagonal PdSe2

In two-dimensional materials, different atomic stacking induces anisotropic atomic interactions and phonon dispersions, leading to the anisotropy of in-plane thermal transport. Here, we report an exceptional case in layered pentagonal PdSe2, where the bonds, force constants, and lattice constants are nearly-equal along the in-plane crystallographic axis directions, while the thermal conductivity is surprisingly much greater along b-axis than along a-axis with a ratio up to 1.8. Such strong anisotropy is not only unexpected in in-plane uniform structured materials, but also comparable to the record high in-plane anisotropic thermal conductivity in the nonuniform structured material reported to date (the ratio is similar to 2.0 in TiS3). By combining the inelastic X-ray scattering measurement and the first-principles calculations, we attribute such high anisotropy to the low-energy phonons along a-axis, particularly their lower group velocities and avoided-crossing behavior. The different buckling structures between a- (zigzag-type) and b-axis (flat-type) are mainly responsible for such unique phonon dynamics properties of PdSe2. This finding helps to discover materials with high anisotropic in-plane thermal conductivity in uniform structures and reveals new physics of anisotropy of in-plane thermal conduction. Due to the unique features in structure and thermal transport properties, PdSe2 may serve as a new platform for designing novel devices to route heat flow precisely at the nanoscale. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

An exceptional case of thermal conductivity anisotropy in layered pentagonal PdSe2 is reported. The thermal conductivity along the b-axis is surprisingly much greater than along the a-axis. The high anisotropy is attributed to the low-energy phonons along the a-axis and the different buckling structures between the a-axis and the b-axis.