(298d) Heat Transfer Through a Dual-Walled Carbon Nanotube

Molecular Dynamics simulations are used to investigate the resistance to heat transfer between the walls of dual-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs). Recent computational results have indicated that the carbon nanotube to carbon nanotube thermal boundary resistance (TBR) can be as high or higher than the TBR between a nanotube and the surrounding matrix (e.g., epoxy or octane) in these case of composites [1-4]. This generates the question of whether heat transfer in multi-walled carbon nanotubes occurs through only one nanotube (most likely the outer nanotube) only or not. We discuss here results for DWNTs composed with the same chirality nanotubes and with different chirality between the inner and the outer tubes.

We conclude that, for the same intertube distance, the dual-walled with different chirality between the inner and the outer tube conducts heat better in the radial direction than the one with the same chirality. In addition, the Kapitza resistance appears to be strongly dependent on the direction of heat flux as it travels across the interface.

References:

[1] Bryning, M. B.  Milkie, D. E.  Islam, M. F.  Kikkawa, J. M.  Yodh, A. G., Applied Physics Letters, 87 (16), 2005.

[2] Shenogin, Sergei  Xue, Liping  Ozisik, Rahmi  Keblinski, Pawel  Cahill, David G., J. Applied Physics, 95 (12), 2004.

[3] Khoa Bui, Hai M. Duong, Alberto Striolo, and Dimitrios V. Papavassiliou, J. Phys. Chem. C, 115 (10), 2011.

[4] Khoa Bui, Brian P. Grady and Dimitrios V. Papavassiliou, Chemical Physics Letters, doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2011.04.005, 2011.