A molecular dynamics study of stiffness-dependent thermal conductivity of graphene

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations is used to investigate the effect of support stiffness on thermal conductivity property based on the 'graphene-springs' model. It shows that the support stiffness greatly influences the thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity of graphene decreases nonlinearly as the support stiffness increases. The temperature stability of thermal conductivity property of graphene can be improved by the support stiffness. For patterned stiffness supported stripe, thermal conductivity is significantly dependent on the patterned area, angle and stripe distribution. The work in this paper reveals the possibility for designing and controlling of thermal conduction of graphene by using support stiffness, which is beneficial to the application of graphene in nanoscale devices.