Thermal and Electronic Properties of Exfoliated Metal Chalcogenides

The thermal conductivity of layered metal chalcogenides such as $MT_2$ (M = Mo, W; T = S, Se) shows a marked decrease after exfoliation and subsequent restacking process. Random stacking of two-dimensional crystalline sheets circumvents thermal conduction pathways along a longitudinal direction, which results in a reduction in thermal conductivity. $WS_2$ and $WSe_2$ compounds retain p-type conducting behavior after exfoliation and restacking with decreased electrical conductivity due to the change in carrier concentration. $MoSe_2$ compound exhibits metallic behavior < $130^{\circ}C$ with a small Seebeck coefficient, which results from metastable 1T-$MoSe_2$ structure of the restacked phase.