Laser induced thermoelectric properties of chiral carbon nanotubes

Abstract

An investigation of laser stimulated thermopower in chiral CNT in the first Brillouin zone is presented. The electrical and thermal conductivities of a chiral CNT were calculated using a tractable analytical approach. This was done by solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation with energy dispersion relation obtained in the tight binding approximation to determine the electrical and thermal properties of chiral carbon nanotubes. The electroconductivity o and the electron thermal conductivities Xcz, Xzz along the circumferential and axial directions respectively of laser induced chiral CNT are calculated. The resistivity p and differential thermoelectric power acz along the circumferential and axia az obtained. The results obtained are numerically analyzed. The parameters a, p and x are found to oscillate in the presence of laser radiations. We have also noted that the presence of the laser source lowered the figure of merit. The figure of merit is enhanced mainly by increasing As or decreasing Az in the presence of the laser. At room temperature (300K) the value of ZT recorded for the chiral CNT in the presence of laser was greater than one. Based on our findings we propose the prospect of using a monochromatic laser induced chiral carbon nanotube as a good quality and highly efficient thermoelement.