Molecular Dynamics Study of Thermal Rectification in Graphene Nanoribbons

Classical molecular dynamics based on the Brenner potential and Nos,-Hoover thermostat has been used to study the thermal conductivity and thermal rectification (TR) of graphene nanoribbons. An appreciable TR effect in triangular and trapezoidal nanoribbons was found. The TR factor is over 20 % even for 23 nm long monolayer triangular nanoribbons. The TR in graphene nanoribbons may enable novel nanoscale heat management and information processing using phonons.