Structural stability, electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of layered perovskite Bi2LaO4I.

Layered perovskites are an interesting class of materials due to their possible applications in microelectronics and optoelectronics. Here, by means of density functional theory calculations, we investigated the structural, elastic, electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of the layered perovskite Bi2LaO4I within the parametrization of the standard generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The transport coefficients were evaluated by adopting Boltzmann semi-classical theory and a collision time approach. The calculated elastic constants were found to satisfy the Born criteria, indicating that Bi2LaO4I is mechanically stable. Taking into account spin-orbit coupling (SOC), the material was found to be a non-magnetic insulator, with an energy bandgap of 0.82 eV (within GGA+SOC), and 1.85 eV (within GGA+mBJ+SOC). The optical-property calculations showed this material to be optically active in the visible and ultraviolet regions, and that it may be a candidate for use in optoelectronic devices. Furthermore, this material is predicted to be a potential candidate for use in thermoelectric devices due to its large value of power factor, ranging from 2811 to 7326 µW m-1 K-2, corresponding to a temperature range of 300 K to 800 K.