title: Measuring the thermal conductivity of a single carbon nanotube.
abstract: Although the thermal properties of millimeter-sized carbon nanotube mats and packed carbon nanofibers have been readily measured, measurements for a single nanotube are extremely difficult. Here, we report a novel method that can reliably measure the thermal conductivity of a single carbon nanotube using a suspended sample-attached T-type nanosensor. Our experimental results show that the thermal conductivity of a carbon nanotube at room temperature increases as its diameter decreases, and exceeds 2000 W/mK for a diameter of 9.8 nm. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity for a carbon nanotube with a diameter of 16.1 nm appears to have an asymptote near 320 K. The present method is, in principle, applicable to any kind of a single nanofiber, nanowire, and even single-walled carbon nanotube.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, Kasuga 816-8580, Japan.
authors.forename: Motoo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Huaqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ago
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikuta
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu