Spontaneous Migration of Polyethylene Molecule Sheathed inside Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube for Nano-Heat Pipe

Development of nanoscale thermal exchanging devices is critical to thermal management in nanoscale. The spontaneous migration of polyethylene molecule sheathed inside single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) are observed. And the multi-factor analysis of spontaneous migration about temperature, mass and potential barrier shows new features about motion mechanisms, and enriches the existing mass transport theory greatly. Here, based on this finding, we report a nano-heat pipe (NHP) composing of a SWCNT and a polyethylene molecule. Using molecular dynamics simulations, the heat exchanging coefficient can reach 450 WK(-1) cm(-2) at 500 K by NHP arrays with a quantity density of 7 × 10(13) cm(-2). This study will benefit the designs of NHP and other nanoscale mass transport devices.