Study on Thermal Conductivity of Nanoparticles by Scanning Thermal Microscopy

Nanoparticles are widely used low-dimensional nanomaterials, and their thermophysical properties have important reference value for the thermal management of micro-nano devices. Nowadays, there is an urgent need for experimental methods that can characterize the thermophysical properties of a single nanoparticle. In this study, an improved scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) method is proposed to realize the nanoscale thermal mapping. Through the calibration of a series of standard samples and the establishment of the thermal resistance model of nanoparticles, the thermal conductivity of a single SiO2 nanoparticle at room temperature is calculated, and the effect of contact thermal resistance on the measurement is revealed. This method provides significant guidance for the quantitative measurement of thermophysical properties on the nanoscale. © 2020, Science Press. All right reserved.