Thermal transport properties of porous silicon filled by ionic liquid nanocomposite system

Abstract This paper investigates thermal transport in a nanocomposite system consisting of a porous silicon matrix filled with ionic liquid. Firstly, the thermal conductivity and heat capacity of two imidazolium and one ammonium ionic liquids were evaluated using the photoacoustic approach in piezoelectric configuration and differential scanning calorimetry, respectively. Then, the thermal transport properties of the composite system "ionic liquid confined inside porous silicon matrix" were investigated with the photoacoustic approach in gas-microphone configuration. The results demonstrated a significant enhancement of the thermal conductivity of the composite system when compared to the individual components, i.e. (i) more than two times for pristine porous silicon and (ii) more than eight times for ionic liquids. These results provide new paths for innovative solutions in the field of thermal management, particularly in the development of highly efficient energy storage devices.