Title: Extraordinary electron and phonon transport through metal-semiconductor hybrid nanocomposite: decoupling electrical and thermal conductivities for thermoelectric application

Authors: Tuhin Shuvra Basu; Mallar Ray

Addresses: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur, Howrah 711103, West Bengal, India ' School of Materials Science and Engineering, Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur, Howrah 711103, West Bengal, India

Abstract: We report a simple method involving mechanical attrition followed by hot press sintering to fabricate tablet samples consisting of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) dispersed in luminescent silicon nanocrystal (Si NC) matrix. A dramatic increase in current by almost six orders of magnitude is observed for this type of Si NC-Ag NP hybrid nanocomposite compared with bare Si NC-based tablets. Collective charge transport through such hybrid system exhibits unexpected and fascinating characteristics. On the other hand, a remarkable reduction in thermal conductivity by two orders of magnitude is observed in the Si NC-Ag NP nanocomposite compared with the bulk counterpart. This is due to the combined effect of reduction in thermal conductivity of individual NPs and enhanced phonon scattering at the interface. We have, therefore, successfully decoupled electrical and thermal conductivity, which is not possible in any bulk material. The huge increase in electrical conductivity with substantial reduction in thermal conductivity makes this hybrid system amenable for designing efficient thermoelectric with high thermoelectric figure of merit, which has remained a significant challenge.

Keywords: metal semiconductor nanocomposites; silicon quantum dots; silver nanoparticles; electrical conductivity; thermal conductivity; thermoelectrics; nanotechnology; electron transport; phonon transport.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2014.063797

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2014 Vol.11 No.9/10/11, pp.897 - 909

Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article