Thermal Conductivity of Silicene Nanoribbons: An Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Study

In order to gain insight into the thermal transport properties of silicene nanoribbon (SiNR), we compute the thermal conductivity of both armchair and zigzag SiNRs using Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (EMD) simulation. Applying Modified Embedded Atom Method (MEAM) potential, the room temperature thermal conductivities of 10 nm × 2 nm armchair and zigzag silicene nanoribbon are estimated to be 2.52 W/m-K and 2.59 W/m-K, respectively. We also investigate SiNR's thermal conductivity as a function of ribbon length, width and temperature. For both armchair and zigzag SiNRs, increasing length and width have a positive effect on thermal conductivity but for increasing temperature, it shows a decreasing trend. The very low thermal conductivity of SiNR validates the conclusion that it is a potential thermo-electric material and our study will be helpful for its use in modern small-scale silicene-based device.