Choongho Yu

Bio: Choongho Yu is an academic researcher from Texas A&M University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thermoelectric effect & Carbon nanotube. The author has an hindex of 40, co-authored 116 publications receiving 6940 citations. Previous affiliations of Choongho Yu include University of Texas at Austin & Georgia Institute of Technology.

Thermal conductance and thermopower of an individual single-wall carbon nanotube.

Abstract: We have observed experimentally that the thermal conductance of a 2.76-μm-long individual suspended single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was very close to the calculated ballistic thermal conductance of a 1-nm-diameter SWCNT without showing signatures of phonon−phonon Umklapp scattering for temperatures between 110 and 300 K. Although the observed thermopower of the SWCNT can be attributed to a linear diffusion contribution and a constant phonon drag effect, there could be an additional contact effect.

Measuring Thermal and Thermoelectric Properties of One-Dimensional Nanostructures Using a Microfabricated Device

Abstract: We have batch-fabricated a microdevice consisting of two adjacent symmetric silicon nitride membranes suspended by long silicon nitride beams for measuring thermophysical properties of one-dimensional manostructures (nanotubes, nanowires, and mmobelts) bridging the two membranes. A platinum resistance heater/thermometer is fabricated on each membrane. One membrane can be Joule heated to cause heat conduction through the sample to the other membrane. Thermal conductance, electrical conductance, and Seebeck coefficient can be measured using this microdevice in the temperature range of 4-400 K of an evacuated Helium cryostat. Measurement sensitivity, errors, and uncertainty are discussed. Measurement results of a 148 nm and a 10 nm-diameter single wall carbon nanotube bundle are presented.

Improved Thermoelectric Behavior of Nanotube-Filled Polymer Composites with Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Poly(styrenesulfonate)

Abstract: The thermoelectric properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-filled polymer composites can be enhanced by modifying junctions between CNTs using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), yielding high electrical conductivities (up to ∼40000 S/m) without significantly altering thermopower (or Seebeck coefficient). This is because PEDOT:PSS particles are decorated on the surface of CNTs, electrically connecting junctions between CNTs. On the other hand, thermal transport remains comparable to typical polymeric materials due to the dissimilar bonding and vibrational spectra between CNT and PEDOT:PSS. This behavior is very different from that of typical semiconductors whose thermoelectric properties are strongly correlated. The decoupled thermoelectric properties, which is ideal for developing better thermoelectric materials, are believed to be due to thermally disconnected and electrically connected contact junctions between CNTs. Carrier transport at the junction is found to be strongly...

Light-Weight Flexible Carbon Nanotube Based Organic Composites with Large Thermoelectric Power Factors

Abstract: Typical organic materials have low thermal conductivities that are best suited to thermoelectrics, but their poor electrical properties with strong adverse correlations have prevented them from being feasible candidates. Our composites, containing single-wall carbon nanotubes, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) and/or polyvinyl acetate, show thermopowers weakly correlated with electrical conductivities, resulting in large thermoelectric power factors in the in-plane direction of the composites, ∼160 μW/m·K2 at room temperature, which are orders of magnitude larger than those of typical polymer composites. Furthermore, their high electrical conductivities, ∼105 S/m at room temperature, make our composites very promising for various electronic applications. The optimum nanotube concentrations for better power factors were identified to be 60 wt % with 40 wt % polymers. It was noticed that high nanotube concentrations above 60 wt % decreased the electrical conductivity of the composites ...

Thermoelectric Behavior of Segregated-Network Polymer Nanocomposites

Abstract: Segregated-network carbon nanotube (CNT)-polymer composites were prepared, and their thermoelectric properties were measured as a function of CNT concentration at room temperature. This study shows that electrical conductivity can be dramatically increased by creating a network of CNTs in the composite, while the thermal conductivity and thermopower remain relatively insensitive to the filler concentration. This behavior results from thermally disconnected, but electrically connected, junctions in the nanotube network, which makes it feasible to tune the properties in favor of a higher thermoelectric figure of merit. With a CNT concentration of 20 wt %, these composites exhibit an electrical conductivity of 4800 S/m, thermal conductivity of 0.34 W/m x K and a thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) greater than 0.006 at room temperature. This study suggests that polymeric thermoelectrics are possible and provides the basis for further development of lightweight, low-cost, and nontoxic polymer composites for thermoelectric applications in the future.

Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics

Abstract: Three parallel algorithms for classical molecular dynamics are presented. The first assigns each processor a fixed subset of atoms; the second assigns each a fixed subset of inter-atomic forces to compute; the third assigns each a fixed spatial region. The algorithms are suitable for molecular dynamics models which can be difficult to parallelize efficiently—those with short-range forces where the neighbors of each atom change rapidly. They can be implemented on any distributed-memory parallel machine which allows for message-passing of data between independently executing processors. The algorithms are tested on a standard Lennard-Jones benchmark problem for system sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000,000 atoms on several parallel supercomputers--the nCUBE 2, Intel iPSC/860 and Paragon, and Cray T3D. Comparing the results to the fastest reported vectorized Cray Y-MP and C90 algorithm shows that the current generation of parallel machines is competitive with conventional vector supercomputers even for small problems. For large problems, the spatial algorithm achieves parallel efficiencies of 90% and a 1840-node Intel Paragon performs up to 165 faster than a single Cray C9O processor. Trade-offs between the three algorithms and guidelines for adapting them to more complex molecular dynamics simulations are also discussed.

Superior Thermal Conductivity of Single-Layer Graphene

Abstract: We report the measurement of the thermal conductivity of a suspended single-layer graphene. The room temperature values of the thermal conductivity in the range ∼(4.84 ± 0.44) × 103 to (5.30 ± 0.48) × 103 W/mK were extracted for a single-layer graphene from the dependence of the Raman G peak frequency on the excitation laser power and independently measured G peak temperature coefficient. The extremely high value of the thermal conductivity suggests that graphene can outperform carbon nanotubes in heat conduction. The superb thermal conduction property of graphene is beneficial for the proposed electronic applications and establishes graphene as an excellent material for thermal management.

Graphene and Graphene Oxide: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

Abstract: There is intense interest in graphene in fields such as physics, chemistry, and materials science, among others. Interest in graphene's exceptional physical properties, chemical tunability, and potential for applications has generated thousands of publications and an accelerating pace of research, making review of such research timely. Here is an overview of the synthesis, properties, and applications of graphene and related materials (primarily, graphite oxide and its colloidal suspensions and materials made from them), from a materials science perspective.

Thermal properties of graphene and nanostructured carbon materials

Abstract: Recent years have seen a rapid growth of interest by the scientific and engineering communities in the thermal properties of materials. Heat removal has become a crucial issue for continuing progress in the electronic industry, and thermal conduction in low-dimensional structures has revealed truly intriguing features. Carbon allotropes and their derivatives occupy a unique place in terms of their ability to conduct heat. The room-temperature thermal conductivity of carbon materials span an extraordinary large range--of over five orders of magnitude--from the lowest in amorphous carbons to the highest in graphene and carbon nanotubes. Here, I review the thermal properties of carbon materials focusing on recent results for graphene, carbon nanotubes and nanostructured carbon materials with different degrees of disorder. Special attention is given to the unusual size dependence of heat conduction in two-dimensional crystals and, specifically, in graphene. I also describe the prospects of applications of graphene and carbon materials for thermal management of electronics.

Enhanced thermoelectric performance of rough silicon nanowires

Abstract: Approximately 90 per cent of the world's power is generated by heat engines that use fossil fuel combustion as a heat source and typically operate at 30-40 per cent efficiency, such that roughly 15 terawatts of heat is lost to the environment. Thermoelectric modules could potentially convert part of this low-grade waste heat to electricity. Their efficiency depends on the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of their material components, which is a function of the Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity and absolute temperature. Over the past five decades it has been challenging to increase ZT > 1, since the parameters of ZT are generally interdependent. While nanostructured thermoelectric materials can increase ZT > 1 (refs 2-4), the materials (Bi, Te, Pb, Sb, and Ag) and processes used are not often easy to scale to practically useful dimensions. Here we report the electrochemical synthesis of large-area, wafer-scale arrays of rough Si nanowires that are 20-300 nm in diameter. These nanowires have Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity values that are the same as doped bulk Si, but those with diameters of about 50 nm exhibit 100-fold reduction in thermal conductivity, yielding ZT = 0.6 at room temperature. For such nanowires, the lattice contribution to thermal conductivity approaches the amorphous limit for Si, which cannot be explained by current theories. Although bulk Si is a poor thermoelectric material, by greatly reducing thermal conductivity without much affecting the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity, Si nanowire arrays show promise as high-performance, scalable thermoelectric materials.