Thermal Properties of Disordered LixMoS2 - An Ab-Initio Study

An atomistic study of the thermal properties of lithiated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is presented and an explanation for the experimentally determined anisotropic behavior of the in- and through-plane thermal conductivity is proposed. Configurations with different levels of lithium concentration are simulated using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and their structural, electronic, and thermal transport properties are evaluated as a function of the degree of lithiation. Comparisons between regular and disordered lithium distributions as well as to the experimental data reveal that the measured ratio of the in-plane to through-plane thermal conductivity can only be reproduced if the disorder of the lithium ions is taken into account. These results suggest that it is not only possible to modify the thermal properties of MoS2 by changing the degree of lithiation, but also by controlling its level of disorder.