ABSTRACT
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Devices such as nanoshells, nanorods, nanofins, and metallic nanofluids depend on the ability of a metallic nanomaterial to transmit kinetic energy in and out of the material surrounding them. With every particle, interface, and pair of interacting atoms, there are inefficiencies in the transfer of momentum and energy that manifest macroscopically as thermal resistance [1-14]. This may be due to a variety of factors. Such factors include (1) the atomic attraction between the two materials, (2) the lattice structure of the metal, (3) the curvature at the interface, (4) the frequency of oscillation for each component, (5) the temperature of the metallic surface, (6) the heat flux at the surface, and finally (7) the direction that the heat flux occurs. A high interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) could mean the difference between a surface that transmits heat well, and stays at a low steady temperature, and one that conducts poorly, rises in temperature and melts. It also impacts the amount of heating that takes place in the liquid medium. A low ITR results in good delivery of heat, allowing a nanoparticle to successfully warm up a medium such as water around it.
