Chemistry

Effusivity-Controlled Interfacial Thermal Transport Revealed by Nanoscale Optical Thermometry

Adarsh B Vasista, Anita Kumari, Yash P. Mhaske

Featured June 27, 2026

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Simply

Measuring heat flow at tiny interfaces is difficult, but thermal optical diffraction tomography reveals that thermal effusivity differences dictate how quickly heat spreads, often causing surprising speed-ups in specific liquid-glass combinations.

In depth

The study introduces thermal optical diffraction tomography to visualize transient heat flow at material interfaces. It demonstrates that interfacial thermal spreading is determined by the thermal effusivity contrast between materials, where lower-effusivity liquids paradoxically accelerate heat propagation along the interface by confining energy near a high-diffusivity substrate.

Key Takeaways

1
Thermal ODT enables label-free, volumetric, and high-resolution imaging of transient temperature fields.
2
Interfacial heat transport is governed by an effective interfacial diffusivity derived from the effusivity-weighted properties of the constituent materials.
3
Lower-effusivity liquids can exhibit faster interfacial thermal spreading due to thermal confinement near the substrate.

Conceptual Flow

HIGH LEVEL

Methodology

The researchers use light to map how heat moves through different materials.

Laser Heating

Optical Tomography

Reconstructs 3D Heat Maps

Temperature Distribution

Results

They found that the material's ability to hold heat changes how fast it spreads at the boundary.

Effusivity Contrast

Determines Spreading Speed

Effective Diffusivity