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Origin of high thermal conductivity in disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene films: ballistic phonons within enlarged crystals

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  • Taeyong Kim

    (California Institute of Technology)

  • Stavros X. Drakopoulos

    (Loughborough University)

  • Sara Ronca

    (Loughborough University)

  • Austin J. Minnich

    (California Institute of Technology)

Abstract

The thermal transport properties of oriented polymers are of fundamental and practical interest. High thermal conductivities ( ≳ 50 Wm−1K−1) have recently been reported in disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) films, considerably exceeding prior reported values for oriented films. However, conflicting explanations have been proposed for the microscopic origin of the high thermal conductivity. Here, we report a characterization of the thermal conductivity and mean free path accumulation function of disentangled UHMWPE films (draw ratio ~200) using cryogenic steady-state thermal conductivity measurements and transient grating spectroscopy. We observe a marked dependence of the thermal conductivity on grating period over temperatures from 30–300 K. Considering this observation, cryogenic bulk thermal conductivity measurements, and analysis using an anisotropic Debye model, we conclude that longitudinal atomic vibrations with mean free paths around 400 nanometers are the primary heat carriers, and that the high thermal conductivity for draw ratio ≳ 150 arises from the enlargement of extended crystals with drawing. The mean free paths appear to remain limited by the extended crystal dimensions, suggesting that the upper limit of thermal conductivity of disentangled UHMWPE films has not yet been realized.

Suggested Citation

  • Taeyong Kim & Stavros X. Drakopoulos & Sara Ronca & Austin J. Minnich, 2022. "Origin of high thermal conductivity in disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene films: ballistic phonons within enlarged crystals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-29904-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29904-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chen, Xiangjie & Su, Yuehong & Reay, David & Riffat, Saffa, 2016. "Recent research developments in polymer heat exchangers – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1367-1386.
    2. Ramesh Shrestha & Pengfei Li & Bikramjit Chatterjee & Teng Zheng & Xufei Wu & Zeyu Liu & Tengfei Luo & Sukwon Choi & Kedar Hippalgaonkar & Maarten P. Boer & Sheng Shen, 2018. "Crystalline polymer nanofibers with ultra-high strength and thermal conductivity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, December.
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