| Thermal conductivity "k" can be defined as a material property where heat is diffused due to a temperature gradient within the material. Among the applications for thermal conductivity are: thermoelectrics, thermal interface materials, thin films, insulation, among many others. A study was made to compare the different types of studies of thermal conductivity of nanomaterials, as well as, a comparison among the different types of setups used to measure thermal conductivity. For this study a custom made thermal conductivity tester was built, this tester was validated by measuring materials with both low and high thermal conductivity, and comparing the results with the ones found in literature. After the validation, materials with unknown thermal conductivity were measured. The low thermal conductivity material was PVDF along with PVDF samples that contained different wt% of boron nitride. The high thermal conductive material was carbonized PVA fibers, the carbonized PVA fibers showed an increment of almost 10 times what was recorded for the pre-carbonized PVA sample. In addition, carbonized PVA coated with copper was also measured, it displayed and increment of 2 times what was measured for the carbonized PVA samples. |
