Influence of disorder on thermal transport properties of boron nitride nanostructures

Abstract

The impact of isotopes on thermal transport in boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and boron nitride white graphene is systematically studied via molecular dynamic simulations. By varying the concentration of the ${}^{10}$B isotope in these materials, we find that thermal conductivity ranges from 340 to 500 W/m${}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ K${}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, closely agreeing with experimental observations for isotopically pure and natural (19.9$%$ ${}^{10}$B) BNNTs. Further, we investigate the interplay between dimension and isotope disorder in several C-based materials. Our results show a general trend of decreasing influence of isotope disorder with dimension of these materials.