Graphene as a material for energy generation and control: Recent progress in the control of graphene thermal conductivity by graphene defect engineering

Abstract

One of the exceptional properties of graphene is its extremely high thermal conductivity, which makes graphene a promising material in thermal engineering. The superlative thermal conductivity of graphene itself provides excellent functions, however, advantages from controlling it are so immense that there has been a rapid growth of interest in adjusting it for recent years. In this respect, defect engineering in graphene has become a critical and strong technique to manipulate the thermal conductivity of graphene and thus gives graphene great opportunities to be used for innovative applications totally different from previous thermal applications. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of graphene can be effectively adjusted by defected engineering since the type of imposed defect and its concentration determine the thermal conductivity of modified graphene. Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly examine the properties of diverse defected graphene. In this paper, we will introduce various types of defects applicable to graphene and discuss how the thermal conductivity is altered by the induced defects. Moreover, we will also review a variety of engineering applications pertaining to the inhibition of heat dissipation using defected graphene.