Thermal Transport in 3D Carbon Nanostructures under Mechanical Deformation

Abstract

The rising of wearable devices and flexible electronics started to demand the development of materials which are mechanically flexible, lightweight, and electrically conductive. Considering that the structural materials in flexible electronics are subject to constant mechanical straining during daily use, the thermal management is expected to become an even more critical problem in flexible electronics since most of materials exhibit degraded thermal transport properties when a mechanical strain is imposed. Even exciting novel nanomaterials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show significantly lowered thermal conductivities after being stretched. In this regards, 3D carbon nanostructures will open a new possibility for achieving efficient heat dissipation in flexible electronics because of their unique thermal behavior under strain. Unlike conventional materials, 3D carbon nanostructures that will be developed in this project will show an increase in thermal conductivity with an increase in tensile strain. The remarkable mechanical properties (i.e. Young’s modulus of 1 TPa and yield strengths of 100 GPa) of their base nanomaterials, i.e. CNTs and graphene make the 3D carbon nanostructures to be more attractive candidates for wearable electronics, and their porous architecture is expected to significantly reduce the structural weight of the devices. In this presentation, thermal transport properties of 3D carbon nanostructures under mechanical strain are explored. Moreover, their exciting applications in futuristic flexible electronics will be introduced.