Effect of electron–phonon interaction on thermoelectric properties of a DNA molecule

Abstract

We investigate the thermoelectric properties of a DNA molecule situated between semi-infinite contacts, taking into account the effects of decoherence. To represent the DNA molecule, we use two models: the fishbone model and the ladder model. Our approach employs a tight-binding method that utilizes Green’s function technique, as well as real-space renormalization and polaron transformation methods. We calculate the transmission probability using the Landauer–Büttiker formalism and analyze the thermoelectric properties of the DNA molecular system. We calculate the electrical conductance, thermal conductance, the Seebeck coefficient, the figure of merit, and the Lorenz number, all while considering the effects of decoherence. This study provides insights into understanding inelastic effects in nanoscopic molecular systems.