Phonon dispersion and thermal conductivity of nanocrystal superlattices using three-dimensional atomistic models

Abstract

A computational study of thermal conductivity and phonon dispersion of gold nanocrystal superlattices is presented. Phonon dispersion curves, reported here for the first time from combined molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics calculations, show multiple phononic band gaps and consist of many more dispersion branches than simple atomic crystals. Fully atomistic three dimensional molecular dynamics calculations of thermal conductivity using the Green Kubo method are also performed for the first time on these materials. Thermal conductivity is observed to increase for increasing nanocrystal core size and decrease for increasing surface ligand density. Our calculations predict values in the range 0.1–1 W/m K that are consistent with reported experimental results.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 14, 2014
Source ID
10.1063/1.4870943

Entities

People

  • Jennifer R. Lukes
  • Mehdi B. Zanjani

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • University of Pennsylvania

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science