A novel approach for determining thermal properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

In this paper, a continuum model is presented to investigate the thermal properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The proposed model considers each carbon–carbon (C–C) bond in CNT as a continuum solid element. The thermal properties of the CNTs can be calculated simply by computing the thermal properties of these solid elements. Considering a thermal resistance for each continuum solid element (C–C bond), equivalent thermal resistance of CNTs can be obtained which is used to determine the thermal conductivity of CNT. In order to find the thermal properties of C–C bond, Debye model has been utilized to calculate the specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Then, extended calculations have been carried out to study the thermal conductivity of armchair nanotube (10,10) and its variations with temperature.