Thermal Conductivity of Heat Treated and Non-Heat Treated Individual Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Thermal conductivity measurements of commercially available CVD grown individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are reported. The measurements are performed using the three-omega-based Wollaston T-Type probe method inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). An average 385% increase in thermal conductivity is measured for those MWCNTs samples which undergo a 20 hour 3000°C post annealing heat treatment. However, in most samples qualitatively characterized defects are found to negate any advantage of the heat treatment process. The highest thermal conductivity measured is 893.0 W/mK and is of a heat-treated sample. These results will help to improve the quality of MWCNT production and aid in the development of highly efficient CNT-structured thermal management devices and engineering materials.