Determining the thermophysical properties of Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles by the photoacoustic technique

The thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of undoped and Al-doped (1-10 at.%) ZnO nanoparticles prepared using the solvent thermal method are determined by measuring both thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity of a pressed powder compact of the prepared nanoparticles by using the laser-induced photoacoustic technique. The impact of Al doping versus the microstructure of the samples on such thermal parameters has been investigated. The results reveal an obvious enhancement in the specific heat capacity when decreasing the particle size, while the effect of Al doping on the specific heat capacity is minor. The measured thermal conductivities are about one order of magnitude smaller than that of the bulk ZnO due to several nested reducing heat transfer mechanisms. The results also show that Al doping significantly influences the thermal resistance. Using a simple thermal impedance model, the added thermal resistance due to Al dopant has been estimated.