Abstract
Thermoelectric materials have attracted the attention of scientists because they directly convert waste heat of electric energy into valuable electrical energy. In recent years, the boron nitride structure has attracted much attention due to its thermoelectric properties and environmental friendliness. In this paper, the thermoelectric properties of boron nitride nanoribbons were simulated and analyzed, discovering that the figure-of-merit (ZT) value of armchair boron nitride nanoribbons is much better than that of zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons. Subsequently, we discuss the bandwidth effects and edge chirality on two important thermoelectric properties, Seebeck coefficient and ZT. Although edge passivation has been carried out, different edge chiralities still have a significant impact on carrier transport. The development of boron nitride-based materials will clarify their potential for developing high performance next generation thermoelectric devices.
Highlights
With the rapid development of the economy, a large amount of primary energy is emitted to the Earth, resulting in various potential heat sources.1 Thermoelectric (TE) materials can directly convert waste heat into electrical energy based on the Seebeck effect, which will play an important role in energy harvesting in the future.2–5 The maximum efficiency of the energy conversion process at a given point in the material is determined by the figure of merit (ZT) and power factor (PF) of thermoelectric materials, which are given by ZT = α2σT, (1) κ PF = α2σ, (2)where α is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, κ is the thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature
The results show that the PF of armchair boron nitride nanoribbons (ABNNRs) is larger than that of zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons (ZBNNRs) at nanoribbon width Na (Nz = 13), while that of ZBNNRs is larger than that of ABNNRs at nanoribbons width Na (Nz = 10)
ZBNNRs and armchair ABNNRs are marked by the number of zigzag chains (Nz) and the dimer line (Na) on the width of the ribbon, respectively
Summary
Due to the high thermal conductivity of graphene, the thermoelectric properties of the nanoribbons are not ideal. Boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs) have a crystal structure similar to that of graphene nanoribbons and have excellent mechanical stability and thermal insulation properties. The BNNRs are wide bandgap semiconductors, and their thermal conductivity compared with the same size graphene is much lower, which means that BNNRs have a very high potential value in thermoelectric devices.. The electronic and magnetic properties of zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons (ZBNNRs) can be effectively tuned by introducing nonmetallic atoms at edges.. The thermal conductance of ABNNRs is much smaller than that of ZBNNRs at the same nanoribbon width These indicate that the ZT value of thermoelectric performance for ABNNRs is superior to that for ZBNNRs with the identical breadth
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