High‐Temperature Thermal Conductivity of Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides

Taylor found that the thermal conductivity, k t , of the transition metal carbides and nitrides increases with increasing temperature, T , at high temperatures. This behavior is different from that of metals, for which k t , is approximately independent of T , as noted by Taylor. It is proposed that defects cause the electron thermal conductivity of the carbides and nitrides to increase with increasing T. This trend is accentuated by polar scattering. The scattering of phonons by defects and by conduction electrons reduces the lattice conductivity, k p , and lessens its temperature dependence, which is in the opposite sense from that of k e . Hence the sum k t = k p + k e is controlled by k e and increases with increasing T. No new mechanisms of thermal conduction are required to explain the experimental results.