Phonon Thermal Transport in Silicon-Based Nanomaterials

In this Brief, authors introduce the advance in theoretical and experimental techniques for determining the thermal conductivity in nanomaterials, and focus on review of their recent theoretical studies on the thermal properties of siliconbased nanomaterials, such as zerodimensional silicon nanoclusters, onedimensional silicon nanowires, and graphenelike twodimensional silicene. The specific subject matters covered include: size effect of thermal stability and phonon thermal transport in spherical silicon nanoclusters, surface effects of phonon thermal transport in silicon nanowires, and defects effects of phonon thermal transport in silicene. The results obtained are supplemented by numerical calculations, presented as tables and figures. The potential applications of these findings in nanoelectrics and thermoelectric energy conversion are also discussed. In this regard, this Brief represents an authoritative, systematic, and detailed description of the current status of phonon thermal transport in siliconbased nanomaterials. This Brief should be a highly valuable reference for young scientists and postgraduate students active in the fields of nanoscale thermal transport and silicon-based nanomaterials.