Tunable and enhanced thermoelectric properties in transition metal–terpyridine complex based molecular devices

Abstract

Using the density function theory in combination with the non-equilibrium Green’s function method, the thermoelectric properties of molecular devices based on transition metal–terpyridine complexes are investigated. The results show that their thermoelectric properties can be significantly improved by changing the transition metal and the twist angle of the complex molecule, which is caused by shifting the molecular energy levels, resulting in increased coupling strength between the electrodes and the central molecule. The ZT value of the Ru-containing molecular device can reach up to 0.9 at room temperature, which is three orders of magnitude greater than that of the graphene nanoribbons of the same width. In addition, its thermoelectric performance can be further promoted by suppressing phonon thermal conductance through enhanced isotope scattering. The ZT value of doped devices can reach up to 1.0 in the range of 300–700 K. This work may help in the design and fabrication of transition metal-containing twistable molecular devices and provide effective methods to regulate their thermoelectric properties.