Highly efficient photothermal effect by atomic-thickness confinement in two-dimensional ZrNCl nanosheets.

Feng, Feng; Guo, Hongyan; Li, Dianqi; Wu, Changzheng; Wu, Junchi; Zhang, Wenshuai; Fan, Shaojuan; Yang, Yuchen et al. · ACS Nano · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We report a giant photothermal effect arising from quantum confinement in two-dimensional nanomaterials. ZrNCl ultrathin nanosheets with less than four monolayers of graphene-like nanomaterial successfully generated synergetic effects of larger relaxation energy of photon-generated electrons and intensified vibration of surface bonds, offering predominantly an enhancement of the electron-phonon interaction to a maximized extent. As a result, they could generate heat flow reaching an ultrahigh value of 5.25 W/g under UV illumination with conversion efficiency up to 72%. We anticipate that enhanced electron-phonon coupling in a quantum confinement system will be a powerful tool for optimizing photothermal conversion of inorganic semiconductors.