Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 35: Modelling and Simulation of Soft Matter I (joint session CPP/DY)

DY 35.2: Talk

Wednesday, March 18, 2020, 10:00–10:15, ZEU 255

Thermal conductivity of commodity plastics: From conventional to smart polymers — •Debashish Mukherji — Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Canada

Polymers are an important class of soft matter whose properties are dictated by large fluctuations. Because of this reason commodity polymers are ideal for the flexible design of advanced materials. However, applications of polymers are often hindered by their low thermal conductivity κ. While low κ values are desirable for thermoelectric materials, they create severe problems when used under the high temperature conditions. Going from the polymers dictated by weak Van der Waals to hydrogen-bonded interactions, κ varies between 0.1-0.4 W/Km. Using molecular dynamics simulations we study thermal transport and its links to the elastic response of polymers. We find that there exists a maximum attainable stiffness, thus limiting an upper bound of κ. The specific chemical details and the glass transition temperature play no role in controlling κ, especially when the microscopic interaction is hydrogen bonded. These results are consistent with the minimum thermal conductivity model and experiments.

[1] D. Mukherji, C. M. Marques, K. Kremer, Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics 11, 271 (2020). [2] D. Bruns, T. E. de Oliveira, J. Rottler, D. Mukherji, Macromolecules 52, 5510 (2019). [3] C. Ruscher, J. Rottler, C. Boott, M. J. MacLachlan, D. Mukherji, Physical Review Materials (accepted) (2019).