Dimensional crossover of thermal conductance in graphene nanoribbons: a first-principles approach

First-principles density-functional calculations are performed to investigate the thermal transport properties in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). The dimensional crossover of thermal conductance from one to two dimensions (2D) is clearly demonstrated with increasing ribbon width. The thermal conductance of GNRs of a few nanometers width already exhibits an approximate low-temperature dependence of T(1.5), like that of 2D graphene sheets which is attributed to the quadratic nature of the dispersion relation for the out-of-plane acoustic phonon modes. Using a zone-folding method, we heuristically derive the dimensional crossover of thermal conductance with the increase of ribbon width. Combining our calculations with the experimental phonon mean-free path, some typical values of thermal conductivity at room temperature are estimated for GNRs and for 2D graphene sheet. Our findings clarify the issue of the low-temperature dependence of thermal transport in GNRs and suggest a calibration range of thermal conductivity for experimental measurements in graphene-based materials.     

基于量子修正的石墨烯纳米带热导率分子动力学表征方法

本文提出了基于量子修正的非平衡态分子动力学模型,可用于石墨烯纳米带热导率的表征.利用该模型对不同温度下,不同手性及宽度的石墨烯纳米带热导率进行了研究,结果发现:相较于经典分子动力学模型给出的热导率随温度升高而单调下降的结论,在低于Debye温度的情况下,量子修正模型的计算结果出现了反常现象.本文研究还发现,石墨烯纳米带的热导率呈现出明显的边缘效应及尺度效应:锯齿型石墨烯纳米带的热导率明显高于扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带;全温段的热导率及热导率在低温段随温度变化的斜率均随宽度的增加而增大.最后,文章用Boltzmann声子散射理论对低温段的温度效应及尺度效应进行了阐释,其理论分析结果说明文章所建模型适合在全温段范围内对不同宽度和不同手性的热导率进行精确计算,可为石墨烯纳米带在传热散热领域的应用提供理论计算和分析依据.     

Effect of triangular vacancy defect on thermal conductivity and thermal rectification in graphene nanoribbons

We investigate the thermal transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) possessing various sizes of triangular vacancy defect within a temperature range of 200–600 K by using classical molecular dynamics simulation. The results show that the thermal conductivities of the graphene nanoribbons decrease with increasing sizes of triangular vacancy defects in both directions across the whole temperature range tested, and the presence of the defect can decrease the thermal conductivity by more than 40% as the number of removed cluster atoms is increased to 25 (1.56% for vacancy concentration) owing to the effect of phonon–defect scattering. In the meantime, we find the thermal conductivity of defective graphene nanoribbons is insensitive to the temperature change at higher vacancy concentrations. Furthermore, the dependence of temperatures and various sizes of triangular vacancy defect for the thermal rectification ration are also detected. This work implies a possible route to achieve thermal rectifier for 2D materials by defect engineering.     

多空穴错位分布对石墨纳米带中热输运的影响

利用非平衡格林函数方法研究了石墨纳米带中三空穴错位分布对热输运性质的影响.研究结果发现:三空穴竖直并排结构对低频声子的散射较小,导致低温区域三空穴竖直并排时热导最大,而在高频区域,三空穴竖直并排结构对高频声子的散射较大,导致较高温度区域三空穴竖直并排时热导最小;三空穴的相对错位分布仅能较大幅度地调节面内声学模高频声子的透射概率,而三空穴的相对错位分布能较大幅度地调节垂直振动膜高频声子和低频声子的透射概率,导致三空穴的相对错位分布不仅能大幅调节面内声学模和垂直振动模的高温热导,也能大幅调节垂直振动模的低温热导.研究结果阐明了空穴位置不同的石墨纳米带的热导特性,为设计基于石墨纳米带的热输运量子器件提供了有效的理论依据.     

应力对石墨烯热输运性质影响的分子动力学模拟

本文建立了低维薄膜材料导热模型,运用非平衡分子动力学模拟的方法,利用lanmmps软件对单层石墨烯纳米带的导热特性进行仿真分析,根据Fourier定律计算热导率,再对石墨烯纳米带的原子施加一定耦合应力场,把应力耦合作用下的石墨烯热导率与正常的石墨烯纳米带进行了对比研究,模拟数据结果表明:在石墨烯纳米带上施加耦合应力时,会导致石墨烯纳米带热导率升高,且随应力增加而增大,模拟范围内热导率升高2.61倍,并且应力方向会对热导率变化产生一定影响,这个研究为纳米尺度上石墨烯相关研究和进一步提升热导率提供了新思路.     

Controlling Thermal Conductivity of Few-Layer Graphene Nanoribbons by Using the Transversal Pressure

We study the thermal transport of few-layer graphene nanoribbons in the presence of the transversal pressure by using molecular dynamics simulations. It is reported that the pressure can improve the thermal conductivity of few-layer graphene nanoribbons. This improvement can reach 37.5% in the low temperature region. The pressure dependence of thermal conductivity is also investigated for different length, width and thickness of few-layer graphene. Our results provide an alternative option to tuning thermal conductivity of few-layer graphene nanoribbons. Furthermore, it maybe indicate a so-called pressure-thermal effect in nanomaterials.     

Thermal conductivity of carbon nanoring linked graphene sheets:A molecular dynamics investigation

Improving the thermal conduction across graphene sheets is of great importance for their applications in thermal management. In this paper, thermal transport across a hybrid structure formed by two graphene nanoribbons and carbon nanorings(CNRs) was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of linker diameter, number, and height on thermal conductivity of the CNRs–graphene hybrid structures were studied respectively, and the CNRs were found effective in transmitting the phonon modes of GNRs. The hybrid structure with 2 linkers showed the highest thermal conductivity of 68.8 W·m~(-1)·K~(-1). Our work presents important insight into fundamental principles governing the thermal conduction across CNR junctions and provides useful guideline for designing CNR–graphene structure with superior thermal conductivity.     

Controlling Thermal Conductivity of Few-Layer Graphene Nanoribbons by Using the Transversal Pressure

We study the thermal transport of few-layer graphene nanoribbons in the presence of the transversal pressure by using molecular dynamics simulations.It is reported that the pressure can improve the thermal conductivity of few-layer graphene nanoribbons.This improvement can reach 37.5%in the low temperature region.The pressure dependence of thermal conductivity is also investigated for diferent length,width and thickness of few-layer graphene.Our results provide an alternative option to tuning thermal conductivity of few-layer graphene nanoribbons.Furthermore,it maybe indicate a so-called pressure-thermal efect in nanomaterials.     

Effect of isotope doping on phonon thermal conductivity of silicene nanoribbons: A molecular dynamics study

Silicene, a silicon analogue of graphene, has attracted increasing research attention in recent years because of its unique electrical and thermal conductivities. In this study, phonon thermal conductivity and its isotopic doping effect in silicene nanoribbons(SNRs) are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. The calculated thermal conductivities are approximately 32 W/mK and 35 W/mK for armchair-edged SNRs and zigzag-edged SNRs, respectively, which show anisotropic behaviors. Isotope doping induces mass disorder in the lattice, which results in increased phonon scattering, thus reducing the thermal conductivity. The phonon thermal conductivity of isotopic doped SNR is dependent on the concentration and arrangement pattern of dopants. A maximum reduction of about 15% is obtained at 50% randomly isotopic doping with ~(30)Si. In addition, ordered doping(i.e., isotope superlattice) leads to a much larger reduction in thermal conductivity than random doping for the same doping concentration. Particularly, the periodicity of the doping superlattice structure has a significant influence on the thermal conductivity of SNR. Phonon spectrum analysis is also used to qualitatively explain the mechanism of thermal conductivity change induced by isotopic doping. This study highlights the importance of isotopic doping in tuning the thermal properties of silicene, thus guiding defect engineering of the thermal properties of two-dimensional silicon materials.     

基于分子动力学的石墨炔纳米带空位缺陷的导热特性

空位缺陷石墨炔比完整石墨炔更贴近实际材料,而空位缺陷的多样性可导致更丰富的导热特性,因此模拟各种空位缺陷对热导率的影响显得尤为重要.采用非平衡分子动力学方法,通过在纳米带长度方向上施加周期性边界条件,基于AIREBO(adaptive intermolecular reactive empirical bond order)势函数描述碳-碳原子间的相互作用,模拟了300 K时单层石墨炔纳米带乙炔链上单空位缺陷和双空位缺陷以及苯环上单空位缺陷对其热导率的影响,利用Fourier定律计算热导率.模拟结果表明,对于几十纳米尺度范围内的石墨炔纳米带热导率,1)由于声子的散射集中和声子倒逆过程增强,与完美无缺陷的石墨炔纳米带相比,空位缺陷会导致石墨炔纳米带热导率的下降;2)由于声子态密度匹配程度高低的不同,相比于乙炔链上的空位缺陷,苯环的空位缺陷对石墨炔纳米带热导率影响更大,乙炔链上空位缺陷数量对石墨炔纳米带热导率的影响明显;3)由于尺寸效应问题,随着长度增加,石墨炔纳米带热导率会相应增大.本文的研究可为在一定尺度下进行石墨炔纳米带热导率的调控问题提供参考.     

Interlayer vacancy effects on the phonon modes in AB stacked bilayer graphene nanoribbon

We explore the effects of interlayer vacancy defects on the vibrational properties of Bernal (AB) stacking bilayer armchair graphene nanoribbons (BiAGNRs) using the forced vibrational method. It is observed that the Raman active longitudinal optical (LO) phonon of BiAGNR is shifted downward with the decrease of the ribbon width and an increase of the vacancy concentrations. We find that vacancies induce some new peaks in the low frequency regime of the phonon density of states. Our calculated typical mode patterns elucidate that the localized transverse optical phonon at the K-point is shifted towards the defect sites from the edges with increased vacancy concentrations. In addition, the impact of defect induced phonon modes on the specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of BiAGNRs are discussed. These results present a new way of understanding the heat dissipation phenomena of graphene-based high-performance nanodevices and to clarify the Raman and the experiments related to the phonon properties.     

Thermal properties of triangle nitrogen-doped graphene nanoribbons

We investigate the thermal properties of triangle nitrogen-doped graphene nanoribbons (TNGNs) with different nitrogen-doped concentrations (0.11% to 2.31%) at different temperatures ($200\text{K}～600\text{K}$) using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics. The results show that the nitrogen atoms doped at the edge of the defect can increase the thermal conductivity of graphene nanoribbons, but with the increase of the nitrogen-doped concentrations from 0.11% to 2.31%, the thermal conductivity decreases sharply. In addition, nitrogen atoms reduces the sensitivity of the thermal conductivity to temperature. Besides, the thermal rectification is found, and it increases with the raise of nitrogen-doped concentration. Finally, in order to verify the correctness of the thermal rectification, we calculate the phonon power spectra of TNGNs with nitrogen-doped concentrations of 0.11% and 2.31% at 300 K. These research has important reference value for the control of heat in microelectronic devices.     

L型石墨纳米结的热输运

利用非平衡格林函数方法研究了由半无限长扶手椅型和锯齿型边界石墨纳米带连接而成的L型石墨纳米结的热输运性质.结果表明,L型石墨纳米结的热导依赖于L型石墨纳米结的夹角和石墨纳米带的宽度.在L型石墨纳米结的夹角从30°增加到90°再增加到150°过程中,其热导显著增大.夹角为90°的L型石墨纳米结的热导随着扶手椅型纳米带宽度增加时,在低温区热导随着宽度的增大而降低,在高温区热导随宽度的增大而升高.对于夹角为150°的L型石墨纳米结,其热导无论是在低温区还是在高温区都随着锯齿型纳米带宽度的增加而降低.利用声子透射谱对这些热输运现象进行了合理的解释.研究结果阐明了不同L型石墨纳米结中的热输运机理,为设计基于石墨纳米结的热输运器件提供了重要的物理模型和理论依据. 关键词： 石墨纳米结 热输运 热导     

Thermal transport in four-terminal graphene nano-junctions

The thermal transport properties of four-terminal graphene nano-junctions (FGNJs) consisting of semi-infinite armchair-edged nanoribbon and zigzag-edged nanoribbon were calculated. The thermal transport in FGNJs is sensitive to their geometric shape. The thermal conductance of FGNJs depends on the width of semi-infinite graphene nanoribbons and center region. These thermal transport phenomena can be explained by analyzing the phonon transmission coefficient. Compared with previous thermal rectifiers, reverse modulation can be obtained by changing the width of the thermal terminal. The results provide significant physical models and theoretical validity in designing the thermal devices based on the graphene nano-junctions.     

Thermal transport in graphene

The recent advances in graphene isolation and synthesis methods have enabled potential applications of graphene in nanoelectronics and thermal management, and have offered a unique opportunity for investigation of phonon transport in two-dimensional materials. In this review, current understanding of phonon transport in graphene is discussed along with associated experimental and theoretical investigation techniques. Several theories and experiments have suggested that the absence of interlayer phonon scattering in suspended monolayer graphene can result in higher intrinsic basal plane thermal conductivity than that for graphite. However, accurate experimental thermal conductivity data of clean suspended graphene at different temperatures are still lacking. It is now known that contact of graphene with an amorphous solid or organic matrix can suppress phonon transport in graphene, although further efforts are needed to better quantify the relative roles of interface roughness scattering and phonon leakage across the interface and to examine the effects of other support materials. Moreover, opportunities remain to verify competing theories regarding mode specific scattering mechanisms and contributions to the total thermal conductivity of suspended and supported graphene, especially regarding the contribution from the flexural phonons. Several measurements have yielded consistent interface thermal conductance values between graphene and different dielectrics and metals. A challenge has remained in establishing a comprehensive theoretical model of coupled phonon and electron transport across the highly anisotropic and dissimilar interface.     

表面共振圆环结构对Si纳米线热传导的调控

利用声子的波动性,在纳米线表面引入共振结构,可以有效阻碍声子输运.为进一步优化共振结构,本文基于平衡态分子动力学(EMD)方法,研究表面共振圆环结构的高度和宽度对Si纳米线热输运性质的影响.结果表明：随着共振圆环高度的增加,Si纳米线的热导率逐渐减小,最大减幅可达61.9%.当高度达到2nm以后,热导率基本不再变化.共振圆环宽度则对热导率的影响较小.声子色散关系中出现的平带,证实了共振圆环引起的声子共振效应;最低共振频率的变化说明了共振圆环中的声子波长决定了共振圆环高度对纳米线热导率的最大影响程度.研究进一步发现,随着共振圆环高度的增加,声学支声子对热导率贡献的比重变小.本文研究结果对高效热电材料和隔热材料的微纳结构设计提供了一种新的思路.     

孔洞缺陷对二维石墨烯/氮化硼横向异质结热传导的调控

本文采用孔洞缺陷来实现对二维石墨烯/氮化硼横向异质结热导率的调控.平衡态分子动力学(EMD)计算结果表明,界面孔洞的引入会降低二维石墨烯/氮化硼横向异质结的热导率.相较于有序的孔洞分布,无序的孔洞分布能够更有效地降低异质结的热导率,这一现象可通过声子安德森局域化来解释.孔洞缺陷的存在导致声子的频率和波失发生变化,从而使声子散射变得更加频繁,孔洞随机分布时,则导致声子波在材料中发生多次反射和散射,最终形成局域振动模式.本研究揭示了孔洞缺陷降低二维石墨烯/氮化硼横向异质结热导率的物理机制,对二维热电材料的结构设计有一定的指导意义.     

Artificially controlled synthesis of graphene intramolecular heterojunctions for phonon engineering

Because phonons are the main carriers for graphene heat transfer, modifying the dynamic properties of the crystal lattice by isotopes modulates the phonon behavior and alters the thermal properties. Here we demonstrate an artificially controlled texture synthesis of ¹²C‐graphene/¹³C‐graphene heterostructures via chemical vapor deposition and an O₂ plasma etching. The electrical and thermal properties of the graphene across the heterojunction show that ¹²C‐graphene and ¹³C‐ graphene are electronically connected as resistors in series, while the thermal conductivity across the junction is dramatically reduced due to the suppressed phonon propagation, which causes the conductivity across the junction to be lower than that of graphene sheets with randomly mixed isotopes. These findings should help realize novel two‐dimensional graphene thermoelectric devices where phonon modulation controls the electrons and heat transport independently. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Phonon scattering and thermal conductance properties in two coupled graphene nanoribbons modulated with bridge atoms

The phonon scattering and thermal conductance properties have been studied in two coupled graphene nanoribbons connected by different bridge atoms by using density functional theory in combination with non-equilibrium Green's function approach. The results show that a wide range of thermal conductance tuning can be realized by changing the chemical bond strength and atom mass of the bridge atoms. It is found that the chemical bond strength (bridge atom mass) plays the main role in phonon scattering at low (high) temperature. A simple equation is presented to describe the relationship among the thermal conductance, bridge atom, and temperature.     

势能模型对石墨烯导热性质分子动力学模拟的影响

针对常用的Tersoff势、Rebo势和Airebo势,系统性地分析势能模型对分子动力学模拟计算石墨烯色散关系、声子态密度、群速度和热导率的影响. 结果表明：Rebo势和Airebo势描述的声子色散关系接近实验值,Airebo势对应的声子态密度与第一性原理计算的结果较为符合,Rebo势和Airebo势计算的Γ点处声子群速度高于Tersoff势. 采用Airebo势得到石墨烯热导率约为1 150 W·（m·K）^-1,与实验值相近. 综合各种影响,相比于Tersoff势和Rebo势,Airebo势能模型更适合计算石墨烯的导热性质.