Experimental Control and Statistical Analysis of Thermal Conductivity in ZnO–Benzene Multilayer Thin Films

[Image: see text] We have fabricated a model system of precisely layer-engineered inorganic–organic thin-film structures using atomic/molecular-layer deposition (ALD/MLD). The samples consist of nanoscale polycrystalline ZnO layers and intervening benzene layers, covering a broad range of layer sequences. The samples characterized in this study combined with previous publications provide an excellent sample set to examine thermal transport properties in inorganic–organic thin films. The cross-plane thermal conductivity is found to depend on multiple factors, with the inorganic–organic interface density being the dominating factor. Our work highlights the remarkable capability of interface engineering in suppressing the thermal conductivity of hybrid inorganic–organic materials, e.g., for thermoelectric applications.