Functionalization effect on the thermal conductivity of graphene- polymer nanocomposites

(2014) Surface functionalization on the thermal conductivity of graphene–polymer nanocomposites. which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted. Notice: Changes introduced as a result of publishing processes such as copy-editing and formatting may not be reflected in this document. For a definitive version of this work, please refer to the published source: Exploring thermal transport in graphene-polymer nanocomposite is significant to its applications with better thermal properties. Interfacial thermal conductance between graphene and polymer matrix plays a critical role in the improvement of thermal conductivity of graphene-polymer nanocomposite. Unfortunately, it is still challenging to understand the interfacial thermal transport between graphene nanofiller and polymer matrix at small material length scale. To this end, using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the interfacial thermal conductance of graphene-polyethylene (PE) nanocomposite. The influence of functionalization with hydrocarbon chains on the interfacial thermal conductance of graphene-polymer nanocomposites was studied, taking into account of the effects of model size and thermal conductivity of graphene. An analytical model is also used to calculate the thermal conductivity of nanocomposite. The results are considered to contribute to development of new graphene-polymer nanocomposites with tailored thermal properties.