Thermal transport in topological electronic and phononic materials

Topological materials hold great promise for applications in microelectronics, photonics, and energy harvesting due to ultrahigh mobility, low dissipation, and topologically protected surface states. While their electronic and optical properties have been intensely studied in the past decade, their phononic and thermal transport properties remain less explored. In this talk, I will discuss our recent effort to understand phonon transport and electron-phonon interaction in topological electronic and phononic materials. The examples I will discuss include strong Kohn anomaly in topological Dirac semimetals, phonon softening near topological phase transitions, and novel transport and scattering properties of topological phonons. I will provide some perspectives on the connections among chemical bonds, electronic band topology, and lattice properties. I will also discuss the prospects of utilizing topological materials for thermal management and manipulation and energy harvesting applications.