Influence of Cu intercalation on thermal transport properties of titanium diselenide

Polycrystalline CuxTiSe2 (x-0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08) samples were prepared using solid-state reaction method. Thermal conductivity in Cu intercalated TiSe2 has been calculated in the temperature range of 300K-600K using formula κ = DCpρ where D is diffusivity, Cp is specific heat and ρ is density of the material. Thermal diffusivity and specific heat of the sample was measured using laser flash method. A low value of thermal conductivity from 1.6 Watt/m-K to 1.5 Watt/m-K has been observed for CuxTiSe2 samples at 300K. Significant reduction in the thermal conductivity with increasing Cu content has been explained in terms of rattler effect of weakly bound Cu ions among the TiSe2 layers.