Thermal transport in van der Waals graphene/boron-nitride structure: a molecular dynamics study

Among the van der Waals heterostructures, graphene/h-BN heterostructure is an appropriate candidate for 2D nanoelectronic devices. In this paper, using a non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation approach, heat transport in bilayer graphene/h-BN and graphene/h-BN van der Waals heterostructure (i.e. h-BN flakes periodically inserted on the top and bottom of a graphene layer) are explored. The results show that by increasing the length of the system, the thermal conductivity of bilayer graphene/h-BN increases. Furthermore, it was revealed that heat transport in graphene/h-BN heterostructure enhances compared to that in monolayer graphene or monolayer h-BN. The size effect analysis shows that the heat fluxes passing through each layer in bilayer graphene/h-BN converges when the size of the system is larger than 100 nm. The results can improve the understanding of heat transfer phenomena in the van der Waals heterostructures and improve designing of heterostructures for better thermal management and heat dissipation.

Automated summary

This study investigates the heat transport in bilayer graphene/h-BN and graphene/h-BN van der Waals heterostructures using a simulation approach, finding that thermal conductivity increases with the system length. It also shows that heat transport in graphene/h-BN heterostructures is better than in monolayer graphene or h-BN, and the heat fluxes through each layer in bilayer structures converge when the system size is larger than 100 nm.