Thermal Conductivity of Suspended Few-Layer MoS2

Abstract

Modifying phonon thermal conductivity in nanomaterials is important not only for fundamental research but also for practical applications. However, the experiments on tailoring the thermal conductivity in nanoscale, especially in two-dimensional materials, are rare due to technical challenges. In this work, we demonstrate in-situ thermal conduction measurement of MoS2 and find that its thermal conductivity can be continuously tuned to a required value from crystalline to amorphous limits. The reduction of thermal conductivity is understood from phonon-defects scatterings that decrease the phonon transmission coefficient. Beyond a threshold, a sharp drop in thermal conductivity is observed, which is believed to be a crystalline-amorphous transition. Our method and results provide guidance for potential applications in thermoelectrics, photoelectronics, and energy harvesting where thermal management is critical with further integration and miniaturization.