Thin films with high thermal conductivity are urgently needed as heat dissipation materials for electronic devices. In this study, we developed a readily scalable roller coating method followed by ultra-high temperature annealing to prepare large-sized, free-standing, and flexible reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films with high thermal conductivity. The in-plane thermal conductivity measured by a laser flash method for the sample annealed at 2800 °C was 826.0 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹, which was much higher than that of copper foil. X-ray diffraction, Raman, and SEM analyses indicated that, different from common chemical reduction, heat treatment at high temperature could not only remove O, H, and other impure elements but also develop the in-plane crystal size of graphene and decrease the interlayer spacing of graphene sheets. Meanwhile, tight embedding during annealing and concomitant mechanical impaction was indispensable for retaining the shape and raising the density of the films. Furthermore, molecular dynamics analyses demonstrated that point defects, pentagonal/heptagonal defects, or even large in-plane holes in graphene could be rehabilitated to a great extent during ultra-high temperature annealing. In addition, real-time temperature monitoring demonstrated that the rGO films could act as an excellent thermal dissipation material in LED packages by reducing 10%–15% of the temperature increase.

Nanoparticle (NP), as a kind of hard-to-machine component in nanofabrication processes, dramatically affects the machined surface quality in nano-cutting. However, the surface/subsurface generation and the plastic deformation mechanisms of the workpiece still remain elusive. Here, the nano-cutting of a single-crystalline copper workpiece with a single spherical embedded nanoparticle is explored using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Four kinds of surface/subsurface cases of nanoparticle configuration are revealed, including being removed from the workpiece surface, moving as a part of the cutting tool, being pressed into the workpiece surface, and not interacting with the cutting tool, corresponding to four kinds of relative depth ranges between the center of the nanoparticle and the cutting tool. Significantly different plastic deformation mechanisms and machined surface qualities of the machined workpiece are also observed, suggesting that the machined surface quality could be improved by adjusting the cutting depth, which results in a change of the relative depth. In addition, the nanoparticle also significantly affects the processing forces in nano-cutting, especially when the cutting tool strongly interacts with the nanoparticle edge.

Both strengthening and weakening trends with decreasing diameter have been observed for metallic glass nanowires, sometimes even in the samples with the same chemical composition. How to reconcile the results has reminded a puzzle. Since the detailed stress state and microstructure of metallic glass nanowires may differ from each other significantly depending on preparation, to discover the intrinsic size effect it is necessary to study metallic glass nanowires fabricated differently. Here we show the complex size effects from one such class of metallic glass nanowires prepared by casting using molecular dynamics simulations. As compared with the nanowires of the same composition prepared by other methods, the cast nanowires deform nearly homogeneously with much lower strength but better ductility; and also show strengthening in tension but weakening in compression with decreasing wire diameter. The subtle size dependence is shown to be related to the key factors including internal and surface stress state, atomic structure variation, and presence of various gradients. The complex interplay of these factors at decreasing size leads to the different deformation behaviors.

Nanowires made of metallic glass have been actively pursued recently due to the superb and unique properties over those of the crystalline materials. The amorphous nanowires are synthesized either at high temperature or via mechanical disruption using focused ion beam. These processes have potential to cause significant changes in structure and chemical concentration, as well as formation of defect or imperfection, but little is known to date about the possibilities and mechanisms. Here, we report chemical segregation to surfaces and its mechanisms in metallic glass nanowires made of binary Cu and Zr elements from molecular dynamics simulation. Strong concentration deviation are found in the nanowires under the conditions similar to these in experiment via focused ion beam processing, hot imprinting, and casting by rapid cooling from liquid state. Our analysis indicates that non-uniform internal stress distribution is a major cause for the chemical segregation, especially at low temperatures. Extension is discussed for this observation to multicomponent metallic glass nanowires as well as the potential applications and side effects of the composition modulation. The finding also points to the possibility of the mechanical-chemical process that may occur in different settings such as fracture, cavitation, and foams where strong internal stress is present in small length scales.