Control of Thermal Conductance across Vertically Stacked Two-Dimensional van der Waals Materials via Interfacial Engineering

A comprehensive understanding of the roles of various nanointerfaces in thermal transport is of critical significance but remains challenging. A two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure with tunable interface lattice mismatch provides an ideal platform to explore the correlation between thermal properties and nanointerfaces and achieve controllable tuning of heat flow. Here, we demonstrate that interfacial engineering is an efficient strategy to tune thermal transport via systematic investigation of the thermal conductance (G) across a series of large-area four-layer stacked vdW materials using an improved polyethylene glycol-assisted time-domain thermoreflectance method. Owing to its rich interfacial mismatch and weak interfacial coupling, the vertically stacked MoSe2-MoS2-MoSe2-MoS2 heterostructure demonstrates the lowest G of 1.5 MW m(-2) K-1 among all vdW structures. A roadmap to tune G via homointerfacial mismatch, interfacial coupling, and heterointerfacial mismatch is further demonstrated for thermal tuning. Our work reveals the roles of various interfacial effects on heat flow and highlights the importance of the interfacial mismatch and coupling effects in thermal transport. The design principle is also promising for application in other areas, such as the electrical tuning of energy storage and conversion and the thermoelectricity tuning of thermoelectronics.