The influence of thermal loads on the physical properties of carbon nanotubes forests

Carbon nanotube (CNT) forests have been successfully integrated into wide range of thermal applications due to their high thermal conductance, mechanical compliance, and compatibility with nano-fabrication processes. However, their successful large-scale integration into functional systems requires thorough understanding of their physical behavior. In this work, we studied how the morphological structure of CNT forests is modified due to the application of thermal loads and its interplay with their thermal and mechanical properties. Our investigation has shown that the thermal load enhances the alignment of initially bent CNTs. The CNTs alignment, in turn, influences the thermal transition temperatures and the mechanical stiffness of CNT forests. Therefore, this work sheds light on the coupling between thermal loads and the physics of CNT forest and, thus, will facilitate their successful large-scale use.