Anisotropic electronic conduction in stacked two-dimensional titanium carbide

Stacked two-dimensional titanium carbide is an emerging conductive material for electrochemical energy storage which requires an understanding of the intrinsic electronic conduction. Here we report the electronic conduction properties of stacked Ti(3)C(2)T(2) (T = OH, O, F) with two distinct stacking sequences (Bernal and simple hexagonal). On the basis of first-principles calculations and energy band theory analysis, both stacking sequences give rise to metallic conduction with Ti 3d electrons contributing most to the conduction. The conduction is also significantly anisotropic due to the fact that the effective masses of carriers including electrons and holes are remarkably direction-dependent. Such an anisotropic electronic conduction is evidenced by the I−V curves of an individual Ti(3)C(2)T(2) particulate, which demonstrates that the in-plane electrical conduction is at least one order of magnitude higher than that vertical to the basal plane.