Molecular bridge enables anomalous enhancement in thermal transport across hard-soft material interfaces.
Conventional wisdom tells us that interfacial thermal transport is more efficient when the interface adhesion energy is enhanced. In this study, it is demonstrated that molecular bridges consisting of small molecules chemically absorbed on solid surfaces can enhance the thermal transport across hard-soft material interfaces by as much as 7-fold despite a significant decrease in the interface adhesion energy. This work provides an unconventional strategy to improve thermal transport across material interfaces.
Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA; Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
Fangyuan
F
Sun
Teng
T
Zhang
Matthew M
MM
Jobbins
Zhi
Z
Guo
Xueqiang
X
Zhang
Zhongli
Z
Zheng
Dawei
D
Tang
Sylwia
S
Ptasinska
Tengfei
T
Luo
interface; nanocomposite; polymer; self-assembled monolayer; thermal transport