How Does van der Waals Confinement Enhance Phonon Transport?

We study the mechanism of van der Waals(vdW)interactions on phonon transport in atomic scale,which would boost developments in heat management and energy conversion.Commonly,the vdW interactions are regarded as a hindrance in phonon transport.Here we propose that the vdW confinement can enhance phonon transport.Through molecular dynamics simulations,it is realized that the vdW confinement is able to make more than two-fold enhancement on thermal conductivity of both polyethylene single chain and graphene nanoribbon.The quantitative analyses of morphology,local vdW potential energy and dynamical properties are carried out to reveal the underlying physical mechanism.It is found that the confined vdW potential barriers reduce the atomic thermal displacement magnitudes,leading to less phonon scattering and facilitating thermal transport.Our study offers a new strategy to modulate the phonon transport.     

纳米尺度热物理中的声子弱耦合问题

纳米尺度热物理中的诸多新现象、新机制与声子弱耦合存在密切关联.本文介绍了声子弱耦合机制,以及相关的物理现象:低维体系中热导率的尺寸效应、声子双温度现象和范德瓦耳斯堆叠界面的高热阻等.同时概述了近年国内外学者对于这些新颖物理现象的前沿研究成果.对声子弱耦合目前面临的问题,例如理论模型如何加入声子波动性等,进行了简要讨论和展望.     

微纳尺度热能调控的声子学元器件研究进展

声子是半导体材料中热能的主要载体.通过对声子调控的深入研究,人们可以为微纳电子器件散热和热能转换提供有效的解决方案.文章介绍了热能调控声子学元器件的研究进展,重点阐述了理论上如何利用微纳米结构材料构建声子学基本单元——热二极管/热整流器.此外,文章还介绍了该领域的关键测量技术和实验进展,包括热整流器和热存储器的设计与实现.最后对声子学研究的发展趋势进行了展望,并提出了存在的困难和挑战.