Thermal and Thermoelectric Transport in Nanostructures and Low-Dimensional Systems

Abstract

Significant progress has been made in recent studies of thermal and thermoelectric transport phenomena in nanostructures and low-dimensional systems. This article reviews several intriguing quantum and classical size effects on thermal and thermoelectric properties that have been predicted by theoretical calculations or observed in experiments. Attention is focused on the Casimir limit in phonon boundary scattering and the effect of phonon confinement on the lattice thermal conductivity of semiconductor nanowires (NWs) and nanomeshes; the effects of thickness, lateral size, and interface interaction on the lattice thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene; and the phonon-drag thermopower and quantum size effects on the thermoelectric power factor in semiconductor NWs. Further experimental and theoretical investigations are suggested for better understanding of some of these nanoscale transport phenomena.

Keywords:

• thermal transport
• thermoelectric
• nanowires
• nanotubes
• graphene

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges collaborations and helpful discussions with a number of colleagues for related research. A partial list includes Alex Balandin, David Broido, David Cahill, Gang Chen, Steve Cronin, Chris Dames, Mildred Dresselhaus, I-Kai Hsu, Rui Huang, Song Jing, Insun Jo, Philip Kim, Deyu Li, Xiaoguang Li, Lucas Lindsay, Arun Majumdar, Anastassios Mavrokefalos, Paul McEuen, Alan McGaughey, Natalio Mingo, Arden Moore, Eric Pop, Michael Pettes, Ravi Prasher, Rodney Ruoff, Jaehun Seol, G. P. Srivastava, Zhen Yao, Laura Ye, Choongho Yu, and Feng Zhou. The author thanks Kenneth Goodson for his encouragement and editorial support during the preparation of this manuscript. The author's work in this area has been supported by the Thermal Transport Processes Program of the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, and Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Science. Opinions and views expressed in this review do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agencies or the aforementioned colleagues.