Thermal conductivity of graphene coated copper under uniaxial tensile mechanical strain

Graphene continues to demonstrate promise as a highly effective barrier coating, even at only one atom thick. The thermal properties of this coating are also promising to allow diffusion of heat across the surface, as the isolated graphene is an intrinsically good thermal conductor. However, this and its behavior under mechanical deformation have been less extensively studied. This report demonstrates that the in-plane thermal conductivity and interfacial thermal conductance of graphene coatings on copper are affected by mechanical strain. By inducing strain in the copper substrate, the Raman-active 2D peak exhibits a change in position and a change in laser power dependence as the copper substrate is uniaxially elongated to a maximum of 0.5%. Non-linear trends in thermal conductivity are observed with tensile strain in samples with differing strain transfer rates from the substrate, indicating the close correlation between intrinsic thermal conduction and interfacial properties in atomically thin coatings transferred onto metals.