Measurement of thermal conductivity of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes by the 3-ω method

The thermal conductivity of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes (outer diameter of ∼45nm) was obtained by employing the 3-ω method. To this end, the third-harmonic amplitude as a response to the applied alternate current at fundamental frequency (ω) is expressed in terms of thermal conductivity. A microfabricated device composed of a pair of metal electrodes 1μm apart is used to place a single nanotube across the designated metal electrodes by utilizing the principle of dielectrophoresis. The multiwalled carbon nanotube was modeled as a one-dimensional diffusive energy transporter and its thermal conductivity was measured to be 650–830W∕mK at room temperature.