Origin of high thermal conductivity in disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene films: ballistic phonons within enlarged crystals

TL;DR

This study reveals that high thermal conductivity in disentangled UHMWPE films is due to ballistic phonons within enlarged crystals, with mean free paths limited by crystal size, indicating potential for even higher conductivities.

Contribution

It provides a detailed microscopic explanation for high thermal conductivity in UHMWPE films, emphasizing the role of enlarged crystals and ballistic phonons, supported by cryogenic measurements and modeling.

Findings

Thermal conductivity depends on grating period from 30-300 K.

Longitudinal phonons with ~400 nm mean free paths dominate heat transport.

High conductivity arises from enlarged extended crystals due to drawing.

Abstract

The thermal transport properties of oriented polymers are of fundamental and practical interest. High thermal conductivities ($\gtrsim 50$ Wm$^{-1}$K$^{-1}$) have recently been reported in disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) films, considerably exceeding prior reported values for oriented films. However, conflicting explanations have been proposed for the microscopic origin of the high thermal conductivity. Here, we report a characterization of the thermal conductivity and mean free path accumulation function of disentangled UHMWPE films (draw ratio $\sim 200$) using cryogenic steady-state thermal conductivity measurements and transient grating spectroscopy. We observe a marked dependence of the thermal conductivity on grating period over temperatures from 30 - 300 K. Considering this observation, cryogenic bulk thermal conductivity measurements, and analysis using an anisotropic Debye model, we conclude that longitudinal atomic vibrations with mean free paths around 400 nanometers are the primary heat carriers and that the high thermal conductivity for draw ratio $\gtrsim 150$ arises from the enlargement of extended crystals with drawing. The mean free paths appear to remain limited by the extended crystal dimensions, suggesting that the upper limit of thermal conductivity of disentangled UHMWPE films has not yet been realized.