Introduction

Silicon is the most important element in the modern semiconductor industry. The shrinkage of the dimensions of nanomaterials is expected to result in new fascinating properties related to size and quantum effects which may lead to exciting applications. Understanding electron and phonon transport in silicon-based nanomaterials is essential for developing advanced electronic and thermoelectric systems. A large volume of research has been directed to experimental syntheses and property characterizations of the various silicon-based nanostructures, including zero-dimensional nanoclusters, one-dimensional nanowires, and two-dimensional nanosheets. Also, intensive efforts have been made to develop computational predictions of the novel thermal properties of pristine silicon-based nanostructures. The authors have conducted original computational work on the phonon thermal transport of silicon-based nanomaterials with small dimensions ranging from zero dimensions to two dimensions which is expected to promote the development of silicon-based nanoscience and nanotechnology. © 2018, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.