Eco-friendly preparation and characterization of highly thermally conductive polyimide/boron nitride composites

• Published in: Composites. Part A, Applied science and manufacturing Applied science and manufacturing, 2023-03, Vol.166, p.107396, Article 107396
• Main Authors: Jin, Seung-Won, Jin, Yu-Ji, Choi, Yun-Je, Kim, Dam-Bi, Yoon, Kang-Hoon, Kim, Hyun-Woo, Chung, Chan-Moon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs); B. Thermal properties; E. Compression molding; E. Sintering
• ISSN: 1359-835X; 1878-5840
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.107396

[Display omitted] In this paper, we report the eco-friendly preparation of polyimide/boron nitride (PI/BN) composite sintered materials and the characterization of their thermally conductive properties. First, monomer salt (MS)/BN composite powders were synthesized using a green solvent (water and acetone mixture). Next, PI/BN composite powders were synthesized by solvent-free solid-state polymerization (SSP) of MS/BN. Finally, thermally conductive specimens were prepared through solvent-free sintering of PI/BN powders. The PI/BN composite specimens showed high in-plane and out-of-plane thermal conductivities (2.777 and 0.962 W/mK, respectively). Thermal conductivities of the specimens increased 558 % (in-plane) and 483 % (out-of-plane) compared to a pure-PI specimen. We found that ultrasonicated fine BN nanosheets adhered to angular surface of PI particles, leading to effective connections between the BN nanosheets during compression. Our study provides a novel eco-friendly and economical preparation method for highly thermally conductive PI composites.