Thermal energy exchange between carbon nanotube and air

Using molecular dynamics simulations the authors impose a heat flux between single-walled carbon nanotubes and air to study thermal interfacial conductance. They estimate that the nanotube-air interfacial thermal conductance is about 0.1MW∕m2K at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The associated interfacial thermal resistance is equivalent to the resistance of 250nm thick layer of air. They also show that the interfacial resistance is a strong function of the interaction parameters between air atoms and carbon nanotubes.