A Thermal Switch for Coherent Phonons Based on a Molecular Junction

Abstract

We present thermal and electron transport calculations in the ballistic regime of a graphene nanoribbon with a nanogap bridged by a stilbene molecular switch. We show that by commuting the stilbene molecule back and forth between its two stable isomers, the thermal conductance can be reversibly switched from a low to a high conduction state, providing a proof-of-concept of a molecular junction-based thermal switch.