Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.5
4.4
Journals
Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Thermal Transport in Nanoscale
share announcement

Thermal Transport in Nanoscale

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2021) | Viewed by 26535

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gozde Tutuncuoglu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, 42 W. Warren Ave., Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Interests: semiconductor nanowires; thermoelectrics; nanoelectronics; epitaxial growth
Dr. Hang Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Lab of Ocean Engineering, School of Naval Architecture,Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: nanofluid model; convective heat transfer; numerical algorithm; instability; nonlinear analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

An in-depth understanding of thermal transport in nanoscale is a critical component for a range of applications in thermoelectrics, optoelectronics, and nanoelectronics. Recent advances in materials engineering and nanofabrication enable a multitude of novel materials and structures that offer exciting thermal properties and capabilities to engineer thermal transport. These capabilities unlock exciting venues for thermal conductivity engineering, thermal rectification, and thermal switching devices. Controlled fabrication of semiconductor nanostructures with feature sizes comparable to those of phonon wavelengths and mean free paths has opened a whole new platform for thermal transport modification through different phonon engineering strategies. Recent studies on material systems such as 2D materials, carbon nanotubes, and perovskites unlock exciting phonon transport physics in these systems.

This Special Issue focuses on thermal transport in nanoscale. We invite high-quality research contributions on experimental and theoretical studies of thermal transport in nanoscale systems, including but not limited to bottom–up and top–down fabricated nanostructures, 2D materials, and thin films. A selection for topics of interest includes:

  • Addressing scientific and engineering challenges to obtain a control over phonon and thermal transport;
  • Investigating thermal properties of novel materials and structures;
  • Developing data-driven approaches for thermal transport prediction and calculation, as well as materials discovery for thermoelectrics.

We welcome full papers, communications, and review articles emphasizing the broad scope of the topic.

Dr. Gozde Tutuncuoglu
Dr. Hang Xu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Thermal conductivity engineering
  • Thermoelectrics
  • Phonon engineering
  • Nanowires
  • Nanomembranes
  • Phonon coherence
  • Organic thermoelectrics
  • 2D materials
  • Phononic materials

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 3656 KiB  
Article
Molecular Junctions Enhancing Thermal Transport within Graphene Polymer Nanocomposite: A Molecular Dynamics Study
by Alessandro Di Pierro, Bohayra Mortazavi and Alberto Fina
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(10), 2480; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102480 - 23 Sep 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2467
Abstract
Thermal conductivity of polymer-based (nano)composites is typically limited by thermal resistances occurring at the interfaces between the polymer matrix and the conductive particles as well as between particles themselves. In this work, the adoption of molecular junctions between thermally conductive graphene foils is [...] Read more.
Thermal conductivity of polymer-based (nano)composites is typically limited by thermal resistances occurring at the interfaces between the polymer matrix and the conductive particles as well as between particles themselves. In this work, the adoption of molecular junctions between thermally conductive graphene foils is addressed, aiming at the reduction of the thermal boundary resistance and eventually lead to an efficient percolation network within the polymer nanocomposite. This system was computationally investigated at the atomistic scale, using classical Molecular Dynamics, applied the first time to the investigation of heat transfer trough molecular junctions within a realistic environment for a polymer nanocomposite. A series of Molecular Dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the thermal transport efficiency of molecular junctions in polymer tight contact, to quantify the contribution of molecular junctions when graphene and the molecular junctions are surrounded by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molecules. A strong dependence of the thermal conductance was found in PDMS/graphene model, with best performances obtained with short and conformationally rigid molecular junctions. Furthermore, the adoption of the molecular linkers was found to contribute additionally to the thermal transport provided by the surrounding polymer matrix, demonstrating the possibility of exploiting molecular junctions in composite materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 3903 KiB  
Article
Hollow Silica Particles: A Novel Strategy for Cost Reduction
by Daron Spence, David A. Cullen, Georgios Polizos, Nitin Muralidharan and Jaswinder Sharma
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(6), 1627; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11061627 - 21 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3799
Abstract
Thermal insulation materials are highly sought after for applications such as building envelopes, refrigerators, cryogenic fuel storage chambers, and water supply piping. However, current insulation materials either do not provide sufficient insulation or are costly. A new class of insulation materials, hollow silica [...] Read more.
Thermal insulation materials are highly sought after for applications such as building envelopes, refrigerators, cryogenic fuel storage chambers, and water supply piping. However, current insulation materials either do not provide sufficient insulation or are costly. A new class of insulation materials, hollow silica particles, has attracted tremendous attention due to its potential to provide a very high degree of thermal insulation. However, current synthesis strategies provide hollow silica particles at very low yields and at high cost, thus, making the particles unsuitable for real-world applications. In the present work, a synthesis process that produces hollow silica particles at very high yields and at a lower cost is presented. The effect of an infrared heat absorber, carbon black, on the thermal conductivity of hollow silica particles is also investigated and it is inferred that a carbon black–hollow silica particle mixture can be a better insulating material than hollow silica particles alone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 3183 KiB  
Article
Thermal Conductivity of Nano-Crystallized Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide Thin Films Determined by Differential Three-Omega Method
by Rauf Khan, Michitaka Ohtaki, Satoshi Hata, Koji Miyazaki and Reiji Hattori
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(6), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11061547 - 11 Jun 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3445
Abstract
The temperature dependence thermal conductivity of the indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) thin films was investigated with the differential three-omega method for the clear demonstration of nanocrystallinity. The thin films were deposited on an alumina (α-Al2O3) substrate by direct current (DC) [...] Read more.
The temperature dependence thermal conductivity of the indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) thin films was investigated with the differential three-omega method for the clear demonstration of nanocrystallinity. The thin films were deposited on an alumina (α-Al2O3) substrate by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at different oxygen partial pressures ([PO2] = 0%, 10%, and 65%). Their thermal conductivities at room temperature were measured to be 1.65, 1.76, and 2.58 Wm−1K−1, respectively. The thermal conductivities decreased with an increase in the ambient measurement temperature. This thermal property is similar to that of crystalline materials. Electron microscopy observations revealed the presence of nanocrystals embedded in the amorphous matrix of the IGZO films. The typical size of the nanocrystals was approximately 2–5 nm with the lattice distance of about 0.24–0.26 nm. These experimental results indicate that the nanocrystalline microstructure controls the heat conduction in the IGZO films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 3493 KiB  
Article
PVA Films with Mixed Silver Nanoparticles and Gold Nanostars for Intrinsic and Photothermal Antibacterial Action
by Pietro Grisoli, Lorenzo De Vita, Chiara Milanese, Angelo Taglietti, Yuri Diaz Fernandez, Margaux Bouzin, Laura D’Alfonso, Laura Sironi, Silvia Rossi, Barbara Vigani, Paola Sperandeo, Alessandra Polissi and Piersandro Pallavicini
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(6), 1387; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11061387 - 25 May 2021
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4048
Abstract
PVA films with embedded either silver nanoparticles (AgNP), NIR-absorbing photothermal gold nanostars (GNS), or mixed AgNP+GNS were prepared in this research. The optimal conditions to obtain stable AgNP+GNS films with intact, long lasting photothermal GNS were obtained. These require coating of GNS with [...] Read more.
PVA films with embedded either silver nanoparticles (AgNP), NIR-absorbing photothermal gold nanostars (GNS), or mixed AgNP+GNS were prepared in this research. The optimal conditions to obtain stable AgNP+GNS films with intact, long lasting photothermal GNS were obtained. These require coating of GNS with a thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG) terminated with a carboxylic acid function, acting as reticulant in the film formation. In the mixed AgNP+GNS films, the total noble metal content is <0.15% w/w and in the Ag films < 0.025% w/w. The slow but prolonged Ag+ release from film-embedded AgNP (8–11% of total Ag released after 24 h, in the mixed films) results in a very strong microbicidal effect against planktonic Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains (the release of Au from films is instead negligible). Beside this intrinsic effect, the mixed films also exert an on-demand, fast hyperthermal bactericidal action, switched on by NIR laser irradiation (800 nm, i.e., inside the biotransparent window) of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption bands of GNS. Temperature increases of 30 °C are obtained using irradiances as low as 0.27 W/cm2. Moreover, 80–90% death on both strains was observed in bacteria in contact with the GNS-containing films, after 30 min of irradiation. Finally, the biocompatibility of all films was verified on human fibroblasts, finding negligible viability decrease in all cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 12409 KiB  
Article
Surface Modification Using Polydopamine-Coated Liquid Metal Nanocapsules for Improving Performance of Graphene Paper-Based Thermal Interface Materials
by Jingyao Gao, Qingwei Yan, Xue Tan, Le Lv, Jufeng Ying, Xiaoxuan Zhang, Minghui Yang, Shiyu Du, Qiuping Wei, Chen Xue, He Li, Jinhong Yu, Cheng-Te Lin, Wen Dai and Nan Jiang
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(5), 1236; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11051236 - 7 May 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4167
Abstract
Given the thermal management problem aroused by increasing power densities of electronic components in the system, graphene-based papers have raised considerable interest for applications as thermal interface materials (TIMs) to solve interfacial heat transfer issues. Significant research efforts have focused on enhancing the [...] Read more.
Given the thermal management problem aroused by increasing power densities of electronic components in the system, graphene-based papers have raised considerable interest for applications as thermal interface materials (TIMs) to solve interfacial heat transfer issues. Significant research efforts have focused on enhancing the through-plane thermal conductivity of graphene paper; however, for practical thermal management applications, reducing the thermal contact resistance between graphene paper and the mating surface is also a challenge to be addressed. Here, a strategy aimed at reducing the thermal contact resistance between graphene paper and the mating surface to realize enhanced heat dissipation was demonstrated. For this, graphene paper was decorated with polydopamine EGaIn nanocapsules using a facile dip-coating process. In practical TIM application, there was a decrease in the thermal contact resistance between the TIMs and mating surface after decoration (from 46 to 15 K mm2 W−1), which enabled the decorated paper to realize a 26% enhancement of cooling efficiency compared with the case without decoration. This demonstrated that this method is a promising route to enhance the heat dissipation capacity of graphene-based TIMs for practical electronic cooling applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 876 KiB  
Article
Fully Developed Opposing Mixed Convection Flow in the Inclined Channel Filled with a Hybrid Nanofluid
by Xiangcheng You and Shiyuan Li
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(5), 1107; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11051107 - 25 Apr 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2215
Abstract
This paper studies the convective heat transfer of a hybrid nanofluid in the inclined channel, whose walls are both heated by the uniform heat flux. The governing ordinary differential equations are made nondimensional and solved analytically, in which explicit distributions of velocity, temperature [...] Read more.
This paper studies the convective heat transfer of a hybrid nanofluid in the inclined channel, whose walls are both heated by the uniform heat flux. The governing ordinary differential equations are made nondimensional and solved analytically, in which explicit distributions of velocity, temperature and pressure are obtained. The effects of flow reversal, wall skin friction and Nusselt number with the hybrid nanofluid depend on the nanoparticle volume fractions and pressure parameters. The obtained results indicate that the nanoparticle volume fractions play a key role in delaying the occurrence of the flow reversal. The hybrid nanofluids hold more delayed range than conventional nanofluids, which is about 2.5 times that of nanofluids. The calculations have been compared with the base fluid, nanofluid and two kinds of hybrid models (type II and type III). The hybrid model of type III is useful and simplified in that it omits the nonlinear terms due to the interaction of different nanoparticle volumetric fractions, with the relative error less than 3%. More results are discussed in the results section below. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 439 KiB  
Article
Modeling and Simulations of Buongiorno’s Model for Nanofluid in a Microchannel with Electro-Osmotic Effects and an Exothermal Chemical Reaction
by Ammarah Raees, Muhammad Raees-ul-Haq and Muavia Mansoor
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(4), 905; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11040905 - 1 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2400
Abstract
The article presents a mathematical model for the magnetized nanofluid flow and heat transfer with an exothermic chemical reaction controlled by Arrhenius kinetics. Buongiorno’s model with passive boundary condition is employed to formulate the governing equation for nanoparticles concentration. The momentum equation with [...] Read more.
The article presents a mathematical model for the magnetized nanofluid flow and heat transfer with an exothermic chemical reaction controlled by Arrhenius kinetics. Buongiorno’s model with passive boundary condition is employed to formulate the governing equation for nanoparticles concentration. The momentum equation with slip boundary conditions is modelled with the inclusion of electroosmotic effects which remain inattentive in the study of microchannel flows with electric double layer (EDL) effects. Conclusions are based on graphical and numerical results for the dimensionless numbers representing the features of heat transfer and fluid flow. Frank-Kamenetskii parameter resulting from the chemical reaction showed significant effects on the optimization of heat transfer, leading to increased heat exchangers’ effectiveness. The Hartmann number and slip parameter significantly affect skin friction, demonstrating the notable effects of electroosmotic flow and the exothermic chemical reaction on heat transfer in microchannels. This analysis contributes to prognosticating the convective heat transfer of nanofluids on a micro-scale for accomplishing successful thermal designs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 10099 KiB  
Article
Modeling and Numerical Investigation of Transient Two-Phase Flow with Liquid Phase Change in Porous Media
by Fei He, Wenjie Dong and Jianhua Wang
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(1), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11010183 - 13 Jan 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2876
Abstract
Two-phase flow with phase change in microstructure or nanostructure is an important issue in many fronts and critical applications nowadays, but with a lack of comprehensive understanding of the mechanism. This paper numerically investigates the transient behavior of two-phase flow with liquid phase [...] Read more.
Two-phase flow with phase change in microstructure or nanostructure is an important issue in many fronts and critical applications nowadays, but with a lack of comprehensive understanding of the mechanism. This paper numerically investigates the transient behavior of two-phase flow with liquid phase change in the porous media, which consists of a series of connected pores at micro and nanoscale with the transient form of the semi-mixed model and self-compiled programs. Transient variation and spatial distribution of structure temperature, thermal non-equilibrium characteristic, phase change location and fluid-driven pressure are obtained and analyzed, and effects of initial system temperature, structure parameter and material property on the transient behaviors of two-phase flow and fluid-structure coupling heat transfer are discussed. The numerical simulations indicate that the two-phase flow with phase change in porous media is complex and ever-changing before reaching a steady state and affected by the above-mentioned three kinds of parameters significantly. Particularly, distinct phenomena of transient heat transfer deterioration and vapor block are discovered, and it is revealed that the transient heat transfer deterioration and vapor block are more serious in a porous matrix with smaller porosity and made of materials with higher heat capacity and density. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Transport in Nanoscale)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-8
Back to TopTop