Low Dimensional Heat and Mass Transport in Carbon Nanotubes

This report covers various issues related to heat and mass transport in carbon nanotubes. Heat and mass transport under quasi-one-dimensional confinement has been investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown that the quasi-ballistic heat conduction manifests in the length and diameter dependences of carbon nanotube thermal conductance. Such quasi-ballistic nature of carbon nanotube heat conduction also influences the thermal boundary conductance between carbon nanotubes and the surrounding materials. The quasi-one-dimensional structure also influences the mass transport of water through carbon nanotubes. The confinement gives rise to strongly directional dynamic properties of water. Here, it is demonstrated that the confined water can be efficiently transported by using the temperature gradient. Furthermore, the simulations reveal the diameter-dependent anisotropic dielectric properties, which could be used to identify intrusion of water into carbon nanotubes.