Thermal conductivity of the pine-biocarbon-preform/copper composite

The thermal conductivity of composites of a new type prepared by infiltration under vacuum of melted copper into empty sap channels (aligned with the sample length) of high-porosity biocarbon preforms of white pine tree wood has been studied in the temperature range 5–300 K. The biocarbon preforms have been prepared by pyrolysis of tree wood in an argon flow at two carbonization temperatures of 1000 and 2400°C. From the experimental values of the composite thermal conductivities, the fraction due to the thermal conductivity of the embedded copper is isolated and found to be substantially lower than that of the original copper used in preparation of the composites. The decrease in the thermal conductivity of copper in the composite is assigned to defects in its structure, namely, breaks in the copper filling the sap channels, as well as the radial ones, also filled by copper. A possibility of decreasing the thermal conductivity of copper in a composite due to its doping by the impurities present in the carbon preform is discussed.