A systematic first-principles quantum analysis of the physical properties of Lead-Free bismuth titanate structures ABi4Ti4O15 (A = Ca, Ba) for low-cost green energy applications

[Display omitted] •New energy harvesting mechanisms as alternatives for traditional energy sources.•Optoelectronics and thermoelectricity have gained much attention.•High absorption capability of the incident photons.•The future of thermoelectric generators.•High figure of merit promising for thermoelectric applications. We have investigated the optoelectronic and thermophysical properties of ABi4Ti4O15 (A = Ba, Ca) using first principles DFT computations. The FP-LAPW technique employed in the WIEN2K code allows for accurate estimation of the ground state parameters of crystalline materials. The phonon spectra, formation energies, and other thermodynamic aspects of these layered perovskite materials indicate that they are thermodynamically stable. The analysis of energy band structures indicates that BaBi4Ti4O15 and CaBi4Ti4O15 are indirect semiconductors with energy band gaps of 1.89 eV and 1.76 eV, respectively.CaBi4Ti4O15 has greater structural stability in comparison to BaBi4Ti4O15.The analysis of optical characteristics reveals that these compounds exhibit high photon absorption in UV region. The static refractive index nω values for BaBi4Ti4O15 and CaBi4Ti4O15 are 1.91 and 1.89, respectively. These values show optical activeness of these compounds since their n(ω) values fall within the range of 1.0 to 2.0. The figure of merit (ZT) values of 1.43 and 1.36 for BaBi4Ti4O15 and CaBi4Ti4O15, respectively, make them highly suitable for thermoelectric device applications.