Thermal manipulation and thermal rectification in π-stacked organic nanowires

Thermal manipulation in nanowires (NWs) is of great significance for NW-based applications in the area of heat management and energy harvesting. Here, we experimentally demonstrate thermal conductivity manipulation and thermal rectification in π-stacked metallophthalocyanine (MPcs) NWs. By electron beam (E-beam) irradiation with a controllable dose, the thermal conductance of MPcs NWs can be continuously tuned to the desired values. Three thermal rectifiers were further tested on crystal-amorphous heterostructures and the thermal rectification was found to be 3.3% with a temperature bias of 10 K when T = 40 K, which is consistent with COMSOL simulations. Precise control of thermal conduction of nanowires, both magnitude and direction, has been demonstrated, providing novel access for nanoscale thermal manipulation.