Thermal rectification in inhomogeneous nanotubes

Heat transfer in axially inhomogeneousnanotubes is known to be asymmetric with respect to the direction of transfer. This phenomenon is known as the thermalrectification. We demonstrate that thermalrectification in suchnanotubes arises due to the interference ofphonons excited in the different parts of thenanotube. It is shown that therectification does not vanish when the thickness ofnanotube increases, but it vanishes as the external diameter ofnanotubes decreases to a few nanometers. The understanding of the origin of thermalrectification opens a way to the design of devices controlling heat flows that could perform as efficiently as their electronic counterparts controlling electric currents.

Source: Applied Physics Letters - December 5, 2016 Category: Physics Authors: Bair V. Budaev and David B. Bogy Source Type: research