Thermal conductivity of double-wall carbon nanotube-polyanaline composites measured by a non-contact scanning hot probe technique

Abstract

This paper presents a method for determining thermal conductivity of film samples using the non-contact mode scanning hot probe technique at probe-to-sample distances such that Fourier law heat conduction across the air gap occurs. A method for calibrating non-contact thermal exchange parameters between probe and sample using a single reference sample is proposed and the obtained value of sample thermal conductivity is presented for thin film samples of PANI-CSA infused with varying concentrations of DW-CNTs. Two- to three-fold increase in film thermal conductivity (from 0.4 Wm-1K-1) for the un-doped polymer to 0.8-1.1 Wm-1K-1) is observed for DW-CNT concentration of less than 20% by weight, and a more than seven-fold increase (3.0 Wm-1K-1) is reported for DW-CNT concentration of 30% by weight.