Engineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces
Abstract Electrical resistivity in good metals, particularly noble metals such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), or copper, increases linearly with temperature (T) for T > Θ D , where Θ D is the Debye temperature. This is because the coupling (λ) between the electrons and the lattice vibrations, or phon...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55435-z |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841559302977880064 |
|---|---|
| author | Shreya Kumbhakar Tuhin Kumar Maji Binita Tongbram Shinjan Mandal Shri Hari Soundararaj Banashree Debnath Phanindra Sai T Manish Jain H. R. Krishnamurthy Anshu Pandey Arindam Ghosh |
| author_facet | Shreya Kumbhakar Tuhin Kumar Maji Binita Tongbram Shinjan Mandal Shri Hari Soundararaj Banashree Debnath Phanindra Sai T Manish Jain H. R. Krishnamurthy Anshu Pandey Arindam Ghosh |
| author_sort | Shreya Kumbhakar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Electrical resistivity in good metals, particularly noble metals such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), or copper, increases linearly with temperature (T) for T > Θ D , where Θ D is the Debye temperature. This is because the coupling (λ) between the electrons and the lattice vibrations, or phonons, in these metals is weak, with λ ~ 0.1−0.2. In this work, we outline a nanostructuring strategy of crystalline Au where this concept of metallic transport breaks down. We show that by embedding a distributed network of ultra-small Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) of radius ~ 1–2 nm inside a crystalline Au shell, the electron-phonon interaction can be enhanced, with an effective λ as high as ≈ 20. With increasing AgNP density, the electrical resistivity deviates from T-linearity and approaches a saturation to the Mott-Ioffe-Regel scale ρ MIR ~ h a/e 2 for both disorder (T → 0) and phonon (T ≫ Θ D )-dependent components of resistivity (here, a = 0.3 nm, is the lattice constant of Au). |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9b003d08960e4d2ab08a557a8f49a530 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-9b003d08960e4d2ab08a557a8f49a5302025-01-05T12:37:54ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-011611910.1038/s41467-024-55435-zEngineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfacesShreya Kumbhakar0Tuhin Kumar Maji1Binita Tongbram2Shinjan Mandal3Shri Hari Soundararaj4Banashree Debnath5Phanindra Sai T6Manish Jain7H. R. Krishnamurthy8Anshu Pandey9Arindam Ghosh10Department of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceSolid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of ScienceDepartment of Physics, Indian Institute of ScienceAbstract Electrical resistivity in good metals, particularly noble metals such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), or copper, increases linearly with temperature (T) for T > Θ D , where Θ D is the Debye temperature. This is because the coupling (λ) between the electrons and the lattice vibrations, or phonons, in these metals is weak, with λ ~ 0.1−0.2. In this work, we outline a nanostructuring strategy of crystalline Au where this concept of metallic transport breaks down. We show that by embedding a distributed network of ultra-small Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) of radius ~ 1–2 nm inside a crystalline Au shell, the electron-phonon interaction can be enhanced, with an effective λ as high as ≈ 20. With increasing AgNP density, the electrical resistivity deviates from T-linearity and approaches a saturation to the Mott-Ioffe-Regel scale ρ MIR ~ h a/e 2 for both disorder (T → 0) and phonon (T ≫ Θ D )-dependent components of resistivity (here, a = 0.3 nm, is the lattice constant of Au).https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55435-z |
| spellingShingle | Shreya Kumbhakar Tuhin Kumar Maji Binita Tongbram Shinjan Mandal Shri Hari Soundararaj Banashree Debnath Phanindra Sai T Manish Jain H. R. Krishnamurthy Anshu Pandey Arindam Ghosh Engineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces Nature Communications |
| title | Engineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces |
| title_full | Engineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces |
| title_fullStr | Engineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces |
| title_full_unstemmed | Engineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces |
| title_short | Engineering ultra-strong electron-phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces |
| title_sort | engineering ultra strong electron phonon coupling and nonclassical electron transport in crystalline gold with nanoscale interfaces |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55435-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shreyakumbhakar engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT tuhinkumarmaji engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT binitatongbram engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT shinjanmandal engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT shriharisoundararaj engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT banashreedebnath engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT phanindrasait engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT manishjain engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT hrkrishnamurthy engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT anshupandey engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces AT arindamghosh engineeringultrastrongelectronphononcouplingandnonclassicalelectrontransportincrystallinegoldwithnanoscaleinterfaces |