Tunable Thermal Conduction in Graphane Nanoribbons

Abstract

Graphane and graphene are both two-dimensional materials but of different bonding configurations, which can result in distinct thermal conduction properties. We simulate thermal conduction in graphane nanoribbons (GANRs) using the nonequilibrium Green's function method. It is found that GANRs have lower ballistic thermal conductance and stronger thermal conductance anisotropy than the graphene counterparts. Furthermore, hydrogen vacancies of GANRs considerably suppress thermal conduction, accompanied by enhanced thermal conductance anisotropy. The tunable thermal conduction, realized by controlling the width, edge shape and hydrogen vacancy concentration of GANRs, could be useful for thermal management and thermoelectric applications.