In this Brief, authors introduce the advance in theoretical and experimental techniques for determining the thermal conductivity in nanomaterials, and focus on review of their recent theoretical studies on the thermal properties of siliconbased nanomaterials, such as zerodimensional silicon nanoclusters, onedimensional silicon nanowires, and graphenelike twodimensional silicene. The specific subject matters covered include: size effect of thermal stability and phonon thermal transport in spherical silicon nanoclusters, surface effects of phonon thermal transport in silicon nanowires, and defects effects of phonon thermal transport in silicene. The results obtained are supplemented by numerical calculations, presented as tables and figures. The potential applications of these findings in nanoelectrics and thermoelectric energy conversion are also discussed. In this regard, this Brief represents an authoritative, systematic, and detailed description of the current status of phonon thermal transport in siliconbased nanomaterials. This Brief should be a highly valuable reference for young scientists and postgraduate students active in the fields of nanoscale thermal transport and silicon-based nanomaterials.

Hai-Peng Li received Ph.D from City University of Hong Kong, China. He is currently an Associate Professor at School of Physical Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, China. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at University of Colorado Boulder, USA. Dr. Lis research area is computational materials physics, including thermal transport in nanomaterials, nonlinear optical materials, and metamaterials. His recent research is aiming to promote the applications of nanostructured materials in energy-related areas. He has published over 40 papers in internationally refereed journals and 1 book chapter in the areas of Condensed Matter Physics, Optical Physics, Chemical Physics, and Materials Science.Rui-Qin Zhang received Ph.D from Shandong University, China. He is currentlya full professor at the Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, China. Prof. Zhangs research includes: computational physics, condensed matter physics, surface science, nanoscience and nanotechnology, materials chemistry, and materials physics, with recent focus on interactions of nanomaterials with chemical and biological systems aiming to promote the applications of nanostructured materials in energy-related, chemical, biological, medical, and environmental areas, as well as developments of related theories and methods. He has published over 350 papers in internationally refereed journals and 5 book chapters in the areas of Chemical Physics, Materials Science, Condensed Matter Physics and Surface Science. His work has been cited more than 7700 times and his H-index has reached 43. Prof. Zhang has been honored with (1) a Third-class State Natural Science Award of China in 1997, (2) a First-class Award of Scientific and Technological Development of China in 1997, (3) a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany in 2004, and (4) a Second-class State Natural Science Award of China in 2005.

Introduction.- Theoretical and Experimental Methods for Determining the Thermal Conductivity of Nanostructures.- Thermal Stability and Phonon Thermal Transport in Spherical Silicon Nanoclusters.- Phonon Thermal Transport in Silicon Nanowires and Its Surface Effect.- Phonon Thermal Transport in Silicene and Its Defect Effects.- Summary and Concluding Remarks.