title: Very large thermal rectification in bulk composites consisting partly of icosahedral quasicrystals.
abstract: The bulk thermal rectifiers usable at a high temperature above 300 K were developed by making full use of the unusual electron thermal conductivity of icosahedral quasicrystals. The unusual electron thermal conductivity was caused by a synergy effect of quasiperiodicity and by a narrow pseudogap at the Fermi level. The rectification ratio, defined by TRR = [Formula: see text], reached vary large values exceeding 2.0. This significant thermal rectification would lead to new practical applications for the heat management.
authors.affiliation: Toyota Technological Institute, Nagoya 468-8511, Japan; EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan; PRESTO, JST, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsunehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
keywords: electron thermal conductivity; quasicrystal; thermal diode