Controlling the Entropy of a Single-Molecule Junction

Single molecules are nanoscale thermodynamic systems with few degrees of freedom. Thus, the knowledge of their entropy can reveal the presence of microscopic electron transfer dynamics that are difficult to observe otherwise. Here, we apply thermocurrent spectroscopy to directly measure the entropy of a single free radical molecule in a...

Role of metallic leads and electronic degeneracies in thermoelectric power generation in quantum dots

The power factor of a thermoelectric device is a measure of the heat-to-energy conversion efficiency in nanoscopic devices. Yet, even as interest in low-dimensional thermoelectric materials has increased, experimental research on what influences the power factor in these systems is scarce. Here, we present a detailed thermoelectric study of...

Geometrically Enhanced Thermoelectric Effects in Graphene Nanoconstrictions

The influence of nanostructuring and quantum confinement on the thermoelectric properties of materials has been extensively studied. While this has made possible multiple breakthroughs in the achievable figure of merit, classical confinement, and its effect on the local Seebeck coefficient has mostly been neglected, as has the Peltier effect...