Heat conduction in graphene: experimental study and theoretical interpretation

We review the results of our experimental investigation of heat conduction in suspended graphene and offer a theoretical interpretation of its extremely high thermal conductivity. The direct measurements of the thermal conductivity of graphene were performed using a non-contact optical technique and special calibration procedure with bulk graphite. The measured values were in the range of ∼3000–5300 W mK⁻¹ near room temperature and depended on the lateral dimensions of graphene flakes. We explain the enhanced thermal conductivity of graphene as compared to that of bulk graphite basal planes by the two-dimensional nature of heat conduction in graphene over the whole range of phonon frequencies. Our calculations show that the intrinsic Umklapp-limited thermal conductivity of graphene grows with the increasing dimensions of graphene flakes and can exceed that of bulk graphite when the flake size is on the order of a few micrometers. The detailed theory, which includes the phonon-mode-dependent Gruneisen parameter and takes into account phonon scattering on graphene edges and point defects, gives numerical results that are in excellent agreement with the measurements for suspended graphene. Superior thermal properties of graphene are beneficial for all proposed graphene device applications.