Nitrogen doping and curvature effects on thermal conductivity of graphene: A non-equilibrium molecular dynamics study

In this study, the effects of nitrogen atom substitution and curvature on the thermal conductivity of graphene are studied using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. Using the optimized Tersoff potential proposed by Lindsay and Broido [L. Lindsay, D.A. Broido, Phys. Rev. B 82 (2010) 205441], the predicted thermal conductivity of graphene is close to the experimental range. It was observed that only 1% concentration of nitrogen doping in graphene decreases the thermal conductivity of graphene by more than 50% and removes its chirality dependency. Our simulations also show that graphene is a high flexible structure and suggest limited curvature effects on its thermal conductivity.

► Optimized Tersoff potential predicts thermal conductivity of graphene close to experiments.
► Nitrogen doping reduces significantly the thermal conductivity of graphene.
► Substituted Nitrogen atoms remove the chirality dependent heat conduction in graphene.
► Curvature has limited effects on thermal conductivity of graphene.