Enhanced and switchable nanoscale thermal conduction due to van der Waals interfaces

Understanding thermal transport in nanostructured materials is important for the development of energy conversion applications1,2,3,4 and the thermal management of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices5. Most nanostructures interact through van der Waals interactions6, and these interactions typically lead to a reduction in thermal transport7,8,9,10. Here, we show that the thermal conductivity of a bundle of boron nanoribbons can be significantly higher than that of a single free-standing nanoribbon. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of the bundle can be switched between the enhanced values and that of a single nanoribbon by wetting the van der Waals interface between the nanoribbons with various solutions.