Crystallite Size Effect on Thermal Conductive Properties of Nonwoven Nanocellulose Sheets

The thermal conductive properties, including the thermal diffusivity and resultant thermal conductivity, of nonwoven nanocellulose sheets were investigated by separately measuring the thermal diffusivity of the sheets in the in-plane and thickness directions with a periodic heating method. The cross-sectional area (or width) of the cellulose crystallites was the main determinant of the thermal conductive properties. Thus, the results strongly indicate that there is a crystallite size effect on phonon conduction within the nanocellulose sheets. The results also indicated that there is a large interfacial thermal resistance between the nanocellulose surfaces. The phonon propagation velocity (i.e., the sound velocity) within the nanocellulose sheets was estimated to be similar to 800 m/s based on the relationship between the thermal diffusivities and crystallite widths. The resulting in-plane thermal conductivity of the tunicate nanocellulose sheet was calculated to be similar to 2.5 W/mK, markedly higher than other plastic films available for flexible electronic devices.