Quantum-interference-enhanced thermoelectricity in single molecules and molecular films

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2016 Source:Comptes Rendus Physique Author(s): Colin J. Lambert, Hatef Sadeghi, Qusiy H. Al-Galiby We provide a brief overview of recent measurements and predictions of thermoelectric properties of single-molecules and porous nanoribbons and discuss some principles underpinning strategies for enhancing their thermoelectric performance. The latter include (a) taking advantage of steep slopes in the electron transmission coefficient T ( E ) , (b) creating structures with delta-function-like transmission coefficients and (c) utilising step-like features in T ( E ) . To achieve high performance, we suggest that the latter may be the most fruitful, since it is less susceptible to inhomogeneous broadening. For the purpose of extrapolating thermoelectric properties of single or few molecules to monolayer molecular films, we also discuss the relevance of the conductance-weighted average Seebeck coefficient.

Source: Comptes Rendus Physique - August 18, 2016 Category: Physics Source Type: research