Thermal conductivity of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} tilted nanowires, a molecular dynamics study

Journal Article · Mon Jun 08 04:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4922480· OSTI ID:22412565

Li, Shen; Lacroix, David; Termentzidis, Konstantinos ^[1]; Chaput, Laurent ^[2]; Stein, Nicolas ^[3]; Frantz, Cedric ^[4]

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1. Université de Lorraine, LEMTA UMR 7563, CNRS F-54506 Vandoeuvre Les Nancy (France)
2. Université de Lorraine, IJL-P2M, UMR-7198, CNRS F-54506 Vandoeuvre les Nancy (France)
3. Université de Lorraine, IJL-CP2S, UMR-7198, CNRS Metz (France)
4. Université de Lorraine, IJL-P2M, UMR-7198, CNRS Metz (France)

Evidence for an excellent compromise between structural stability and low thermal conductivity has been achieved with tilted Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} nanowires. The latter ones were recently fabricated and there is a need in modeling and characterization. The structural stability and the thermal conductivity of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} nanowires along the tilted [015]* direction and along the [010] direction have been explored. For the two configurations of nanowires, the effect of the length and the cross section on the thermal conductivity is discussed. The thermal conductivity of infinite size tilted nanowire is 0.34 W/m K, significantly reduced compared to nanowire along the [010] direction (0.59 W/m K). This reveals that in Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} nanowires the structural anisotropy can be as important as size effects to reduce the thermal conductivity. The main reason is the reduction of the phonon mean free path which is found to be 1.7 nm in the tilted nanowires, compared to 5.3 nm for the nanowires along the [010] direction. The fact that tilted Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} nanowire is mechanically stable and it has extremely low thermal conductivity suggests these nanowires as a promising material for future thermoelectric generation application.

• OSTI ID: 22412565
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 23 Vol. 106; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
BISMUTH TELLURIDES
MEAN FREE PATH
MOLECULAR DYNAMICS METHOD
NANOWIRES
PHONONS
SIMULATION
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY