A First-Principles Investigation on Electronic Structure, Optical and Thermoelectric Properties of Janus In2SeTe Monolayer

The Janus two-dimensional (2D) materials have recently demonstrated excellent physical and chemical properties. The electronic, thermoelectric, and optical properties of the Janus In2SeTe monolayer have been investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our results revealed the Janus In2SeTe monolayer has a direct bandgap of 1.07 eV, which is desirable and smaller than that of InSe and InTe. The studied optical properties indicate that Janus In2SeTe monolayer has a very good absorbing capability of light from the infrared region to ultraviolet one with a large absorption coefficient. Moreover, the thermoelectric property calculations suggest that the In2SeTe Janus monolayer can be a potential thermoelectric material, with a great electronic figure of merit ( $${ZT}_{\mathrm{e}}$$ ) of 0.97 at 300 K. In addition, the $${ZT}_{\mathrm{e}}$$ increases with temperature up to a value of 1.42 at 800 K. Our results revealed the Janus In2SeTe monolayer possesses good properties that could offer the possibility of optoelectronic and energy conversion applications.