Diameter dependence of carbon nanotube thermal conductivity and extension to the graphene limit

L. Lindsay, D. A. Broido, Natalio Mingo

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174 Scopus citations

Abstract

Using an exact numerical solution of the phonon Boltzmann equation, we demonstrate a nontrivial evolution with diameter of the intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity, κ, of a wide range of achiral and chiral single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) into that of graphene, κgraphene. We find that κ< κgraphene for all but the smallest diameter SWCNTs and that κ exhibits a minimum for modest diameters. This behavior results because the inherent curvature in SWCNTs violates a selection rule in graphene arising from its reflection symmetry, which strongly restricts phonon-phonon scattering in that system.

Original languageEnglish
Article number161402
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume82
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 5 2010
Externally publishedYes

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