Reinforced Interfacial Interaction to Fabricate Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Composites with High Thermal Conductivity for Heat Exchangers

Construction of Thermal Bridge in Alumina/Polydimethylsiloxane Composites by Selective Location of Erythritol

Alumina/polymer composites are conventional thermal interface materials widely used for heat dissipation. However, the interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) dominates the thermal conductivity (TC) of these composites, presenting a critical challenge. This study introduces erythritol as an innovative thermal bridge to effectively reduce the ITR by selectively locating it at the interfaces among alumina (Al2O3) particles. Through a straightforward preparation method, erythritol was positioned among Al2O3 particles, followed by the impregnation of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) into the filler gaps. The resulting Al2O3/erythritol/PDMS composite demonstrated a thermal conductivity of 3.12 W·m-1·K-1 at an erythritol content of 4.16 wt % and a filler content of 53.7 vol %. Minor usage of erythritol brings a 34.4% enhancement compared with conventional Al2O3/PDMS composites. Additionally, the composite shows potential as a thermal switch due to erythritol's phase change properties. This approach, which emphasizes fluid-state processing and interface bridging, presents a promising new strategy for improving the thermal conductivity of ceramic-filled polymer composites.

Easy and Green Method to Fabricate Highly Thermally Conductive Poly(decamethylene terephthalamide)/Graphite Nanoplatelets Nanocomposite with Aligned Structure

With the development of miniaturization and integration of electrical and electronic equipment, the heat accumulation problems caused by the long-term operation of devices have become more and more serious. High thermal-conductivity and high-performance plastic composites have attracted significant interest from both academia and industry. Numerous studies have been recently conducted to enhance the thermal conductivity (TC) of nanofiller-filled polymeric composites. However, the homogeneous dispersion and directional arrangement of nanofillers in the resin matrix are the key factors limiting their effectiveness in enhancing thermal conductivity. Based on the feasibility considerations of mass production and industrial application, this paper reports on a novel preparation method of Poly(decamethylene terephthalamide)/graphite nanoparticle (GNP) nanocomposites with high thermal conductivity. Without borrowing solvents or other reagents, this method can effectively strip the inexpensive scaled graphite into nanoscale for its uniform dispersion and orientation arrangement by relying only on mechanical external forces. The whole technology is simple, green, and easy to industrialize. The fillers were well-dispersed and aligned in the PA10T, which played a role in significantly enhancing the thermal conductivity of the PA10T. In addition, we found that the thermal conductivity of the composites reached 1.20 W/(m·K) at 10 wt% filler content, which was 330% higher than that of the pure matrix. The mechanical properties of the composites were also significantly improved. This work provides guidance for the easy fabrication of thermally conductive composites with aligned structures.