Thermal transport in graphyne nanoribbons

Abstract

Graphyne, a new allotrope of carbon, is a current topic of focus in the nanomaterial research community. We investigate the thermal transport property of graphyne nanoribbons (GYNRs) by using the nonequilibrium Green's-function method. The thermal conductance of GYNRs is only approximately 40$%$ that of graphene nanoribbons. A distinct width dependence of the thermal property is observed in GYNRs as well. The conductance of armchair-edged GYNRs (A-GYNRs) shows a linear width dependence, while a steplike width dependence is displayed in the conductance of zigzag-edged GYNRs (Z-GYNRs). Moreover, the conductance of an A-GYNR is larger than that of a Z-GYNR of the same width, indicating obvious anisotropic transport in graphyne (twice that in graphene). In addition, the thermal transport in graphyne family nanoribbons is also explored. The results show that the conductance of graphyne family nanoribbons is insensitive to the acetylenic linkages, but depends on the number of benzene rings. These findings could offer useful guidelines for the design and performance improvement of the graphyne-based nanodevices.