Impedance modeling for excluding contact resistance from cross-plane electronic conductivity measurement of anisotropic two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXenes.

We propose impedance spectroscopy modeling as a convenient tool for estimating the cross-plane conductivity of anisotropic two-dimensional materials by excluding contact resistance with the underlying metal electrodes. We showcase this idea on two types of titanium carbide Ti₃C₂T_x MXenes, wherein T_x represents surface functional termination. These MXenes are synthesized from the same parent MAX phase material (Ti₃AlC₂) by different synthesis protocols and are studied in their plain as-synthesized states as well as after short annealing. The cross-plane conductivity of MXenes estimated by our approach appears to be up to an order of magnitude higher than is estimated by a conventional one. We validate our impedance modeling approach by comparing the specific contact resistance results derived from it to a direct estimation by transmission line measurement. We also deduce which functional group has a dominant footprint on the conductivity in each studied MXene by performing numerical simulations on cross-plane conductivity as well as on electronic band structures. The novel equivalent circuit developed herein may be extended to other anisotropic thin films to aid their application in various electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]