Defect Induced Variabilities in Thermal Conductivity of Nano Structures

The high thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes makes them ideal candidates for use as nano-fins for thermal management in electronics and composites. At the nanoscale, the thermal conductivity of nanotubes are found to be dependent on size, strain states, temperature, and presence of defects and vacancy. The proper understanding of the effect of these parameters are important in constructing a nanotube system with desired thermal characteristics. Here, we pay special focus on the effect of different kinds of defects and vacancies on the thermal conductivities of nanotubes. Defects and vacancies are imperfections in an otherwise hexagonal structure of nanotube. Their presence have shown to impede the thermal transport in nano-structures which is attributed to the scattering of phonons that occurs in these imperfections. The thermal conductivities of (10,10) armchair nanotube with defects and vacancies are determined using the heat bath method, a non-equilibrium molecular dynamic simulation and are compared with that of pristine carbon nano-structures. This is followed by the comparative study of phonon density of states of nanotubes with and without the defects.

INFLUENCE OF IONIZING IRRADIATION ON THE PARAMETERS OF ZN NANOTUBES ARRAYS FOR DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS ELEMENTS

The aim of the study is establishing the possibility of using Zn nanotube arrays as a basis for design compact and lightweight elements of flexible electronics, including operating under influence of ionizing irradiation.The paper presents the results of the synthesis of Zn nanotubes obtained by electrochemical deposition in the pores of polymer matrices and the study of their structural and electrophysical properties after directional modification by ionizing radiation with different doses. Using the methods of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive analysis, the structure of nanotubes having a polycrystalline structure and completely consisting of zinc was studied and it was demonstrated that irradiation with Ar8+ ions with a dose from 1 × 109 to 5 × 1011 ion/cm2 and energy 1.75 MeV/nucleon has an effect on the crystal structure of nanotubes.At high doses, localized highly defect zones arise, leading to a critical change in the structure and physical properties of the nanotubes, respectively. It is shown that the consequence of the modification of the crystal structure is a change in the electrical conductivity of nanotubes: at low doses the electrical conductivity increases, but when the threshold value is reached, it sharply decreases. The change in the crystal structure and the corresponding changes in the conductive properties of Zn nanotubes due to irradiation determine the mechanism of ionizing radiation influence on nanomaterials and determine the possibility of using Zn nanotubes arrays as a basis for creating compact and lightweight elements of flexible electronics.

Polypyrrole salts and bases: superior conductivity of nanotubes and their stability towards the loss of conductivity by deprotonation

Polypyrrole nanotubes exhibit conductivity of tens S cm−1 which is one of the highest among the current conducting polymers.

Improving Electrical Conductivity and Thermal Properties of Polymers by the Addition of Carbon Nanotubes as Fillers

The remarkable electrical and thermal conductivities of isolated carbon nanotubes have spurred worldwide interest in using nanotubes to enhance polymer properties. Electrical conductivity in nanotube/polymer composites is well described by percolation, where the presence of an interconnected nanotube network corresponds to a dramatic increase in electrical conductivity ranging from 10−5 S/cm to 1 S/cm. Given the high aspect ratios and small diameters of carbon nanotubes, percolation thresholds are often reported below 1 wt% although nanotube dispersion and alignment strongly influence this value. Increases in thermal conductivity are modest (∼3 times) because the inter facial thermal re sis tance between nanotubes is considerable and the thermal conductivity of nanotubes is only 104 greater than the polymer, which forces the matrix to contribute more toward the composite thermal conductivity, as compared to the contrast in electrical conductivity, >1014. The nanotube network is also valuable for improving flame-retardant efficiency by producing a protective nanotube residue. In this ar ticle, we highlight published research results that elucidate fundamental structure–property relationships pertaining to electrical, thermal, and/or flammability properties in numerous nanotube-containing polymer composites, so that specific applications can be targeted for future commercial success.

EFFECTIVE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF NANOFLUIDS CONTAINING CYLINDRICAL NANOPARTICLES

We present a theoretical model for explaining the enhancement in the effective thermal conductivity of nanotubes (cylindrical shape particles) for use in nanotube-in-fluid suspensions. Our theoretical model shows that the effective thermal conductivity is decreased with cylindrical nanoparticle diameter, which agrees with experimental results. We also show that with the decrease of nanotube diameter, the thermal conductivity increases if the thickness of nanolayers increases. We provide a good estimation for the nanolayer's thickness which plays an important role in increasing the thermal conductivity.

Thermal Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The thermal properties of carbon nanotubes are strongly dependent on their unique structure and size, and show promise as an ideal material for thermal management on the micro- and macro-scale. The specific heat of nanotubes is similar to that of two-dimensional graphene at high temperatures, but is sensitive to the effects of rolling the the graphene sheet into a small cylinder at low temperatures. Specifically, the acoustic phonon modes are stiffened due to the cylindrical geometry, and the phonon spectrum is quantized due to the small diameter of the tube. In bundles of single-walled nanotubes, the specific heat is a sensitive probe of inter-tube mechanical coupling. Measurements of the specific heat show that inter-tube coupling is relatively weak, and show direct evidence for quantum effects. The thermal conductivity of nanotubes should reflect the on-tube phonon structure. Aligned bundles of SWNTs show a high thermal conductivity (>200 W/m-K at room temperature), and possible quantization effects at low temperature.