Thermal transport in graphene-based layered materials: An analytical model validated with extensive molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract

Graphene-based layered materials have attracted particular interests recently owing to their excellent mechanical and thermal properties, which are attributed to their layer-by-layer hierarchical structures with intralayer strong sp2 bonds combined with interlayer crosslinks for efficient load and heat transfer. They have many potential applications such as high thermal conductive films in flexible electronics. In this paper, we firstly develop an analytical model to calculate the thermal conductivity of graphene layered materials. Then, extensive molecular dynamics simulations are performed to validate the analytical model. A good agreement is obtained between the analytical and simulation results. Besides, the effects of geometry factors such as graphene sheet size and crosslink density on the temperature distribution and thermal conductivity of graphene layered materials are investigated. It is found that the thermal conductivity of graphene layered materials can be effectively tuned by the graphene sheet size and crosslink density. Our works are of practical importance for the design and application of graphene layered materials as thermal film materials.