Phonons in Copper Diphosphide (CuP₂): Raman Spectroscopy and Lattice Dynamics Calculations

Copper diphosphide (CuP₂) is an emerging binary semiconductor with promising properties for energy conversion and storage applications. While functionality and possible applications of CuP₂ have been studied, there is a curious gap in the investigation of its vibrational properties. In this work, we provide a reference Raman spectrum of CuP₂, with a complete analysis of all Raman active modes from both experimental and theoretical perspectives. Raman measurements have been performed on polycrystalline CuP₂ thin films with close to stoichiometric composition. Detailed deconvolution of the Raman spectrum with Lorentzian curves has allowed identification of all theoretically predicted Raman active modes (9A_g and 9B_g), including their positions and symmetry assignment. Furthermore, calculations of the phonon density of states (PDOS), as well as the phonon dispersions, provide a microscopic understanding of the experimentally observed phonon lines, in addition to the assignment to the specific lattice eigenmodes. We further provide the theoretically predicted positions of the infrared (IR) active modes, along with the simulated IR spectrum from density functional theory (DFT). Overall good agreement is found between the experimental and DFT-calculated Raman spectra of CuP₂, providing a reference platform for future investigations on this material.