We present a theory for the lattice thermal conductivity ${\kappa }_L$ of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (MLBN), which is based on an exact numerical solution of the phonon Boltzmann equation. Coupling between layers in MLBN and nanotube curvature in BNNTs each break a phonon scattering selection rule found in single-layer hexagonal boron nitride (SLBN), which reduces ${\kappa }_L$ in these systems. We show that out-of-plane flexural phonons in MLBN and out-of-tube phonons in BNNTs provide large contributions to ${\kappa }_L$, qualitatively similar to multilayer graphene (MLG) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). However, we find that the ${\kappa }_L$'s in BNNTs and MLBN are considerably smaller compared to similar SWCNTs and MLG structures because of stronger anharmonic phonon scattering in the former. A large and strongly temperature-dependent isotope effect is found reflecting the interplay between anharmonic and isotope scattering phonons. Finally, we also demonstrate convergence of BNNTs into SLBN for large-diameter nanotubes and MLBN to bulk hexagonal boron nitride within a few layers.

• Received 26 October 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.85.035436