Issue 44, 2015

Remarkable enhancement in the Kapitza resistance and electron potential barrier of chemically modified In2O3(ZnO)9 natural superlattice interfaces

Abstract

Superlattice interfaces can efficiently scatter phonons and filter low-energy electrons, thereby reducing the thermal conductivity to the “alloy limit” of crystalline solids and increasing the Seebeck coefficient substantially. In this paper, we report a two-fold reduction in the thermal conductivity and an improvement of about 170% in the Seebeck coefficient of an existing In2O3(ZnO)9 superlattice by chemically modifying the interface with small additions of aluminum. Using a classical model for the interface transport, we attribute such significant changes to the increase in both the Kapitza (thermal) resistance and the electron potential barrier height of the InO2 superlattice interfaces that are modified by Al3+. The present work opens a new avenue of research showing that the superlattice interfaces can be chemically tuned for specific properties, which can be investigated in both experimental and computational ways, and also suggests a new route for material design for applications in areas like thermoelectrics.

Graphical abstract: Remarkable enhancement in the Kapitza resistance and electron potential barrier of chemically modified In2O3(ZnO)9 natural superlattice interfaces

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Aug 2015
Accepted
07 Oct 2015
First published
08 Oct 2015

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 29655-29660

Remarkable enhancement in the Kapitza resistance and electron potential barrier of chemically modified In2O3(ZnO)9 natural superlattice interfaces

X. Liang, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 29655 DOI: 10.1039/C5CP05076F

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