Thermal diode made by nematic liquid crystal

•An escaped radial disclination as a thermal diode made by a nematic liquid crystal.•Rectifying effects comparable to those caused by carbon and boron nitride nanotubes.•Thermal rectification increasing with radius and decreasing with height of the tube.•Asymmetric BCs cause rectification from the spatial asymmetry produced by the escape.•Symmetric BCs provide rectifications smaller than those yields by asymmetric BCs.

This work investigates how a thermal diode can be designed from a nematic liquid crystal confined inside a cylindrical capillary. In the case of homeotropic anchoring, a defect structure called escaped radial disclination arises. The asymmetry of such structure causes thermal rectification rates up to 3.5% at room temperature, comparable to thermal diodes made from carbon nanotubes. Sensitivity of the system with respect to the heat power supply, the geometry of the capillary tube and the molecular anchoring angle is also discussed.