Remarkably enhanced thermal properties of tobacco granules with high-thermal-conductivity nanoparticles

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are a novel type of cigarette that have received extensive attention. The tobacco plug could be made from tobacco granules (TGs), which are heated but not burned during the inhalation process. Thermal conductivity is an important property to evaluate the speed of heating TGs to meet the critical temperature for generating aerosol. Nevertheless, thermal physics properties of TGs is rarely reported. In this study, the thermophysical performance for the tobacco granules is systematically studied. An effective strategy of raising the thermal conductivity of TGs by introducing a small amount of nanoparticles of high-thermal-conductivity-materials (HTCMs, copper, silver, and graphene) is proposed, which not only results in a 35% improvement in the thermal conductivity but also reduces the maximum temperature for generating aerosol. In addition, introducing Cu and Ag particles in the TGs are favorable for improving the antibacterial effect. This method is worth promoting for enhancing the thermal conductivity of other plant-derived heated products.