title: Highly efficient photothermal effect by atomic-thickness confinement in two-dimensional ZrNCl nanosheets.
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.
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale & Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China , Hefei, Anhui 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Dianqi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Changzheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Junchi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wenshuai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shaojuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Yuchen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jinlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Bangjiao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
keywords: electron−phonon interaction; energy conversion; photothermal effect; quantum confinement; ultrathin nanosheets