Epoxy composite with metal-level thermal conductivity achieved by synergistic effect inspired by lamian noodles

• Published in: Composites science and technology 2022-09, Vol.228, p.109677, Article 109677
• Main Authors: Li, Maohua, Li, Linhong, Chen, Yapeng, Qin, Yue, Wei, Xianzhe, Kong, Xiangdong, Zhang, Zhenbang, Xiong, Shaoyang, Do, Hainam, Greer, James C., Pan, Zhongbin, Shui, Xiaoxue, Cai, Tao, Dai, Wen, Nishimura, Kazuhito, Lin, Cheng-Te, Jiang, Nan, Yu, Jinhong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon fiber; Epoxy composite; Synergistic effect; Thermal conductivity
• ISSN: 0266-3538; 1879-1050
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2022.109677

To enhance thermal dissipation from packaged electronic components, a material with high thermal conductivity and low coefficient thermal expansion is required. In this work, a strategy inspired by the processing of lamian, a type of traditional Chinese noodle, is proposed. By combining two important methods, aligning filler and bridging effect, the method can construct composites with both high thermal conductivity and coefficient thermal expansion. The epoxy composite exhibits a high thermal conductivity of 110 W m−1 K−1 and a low coefficient of thermal expansion of 7.4 ppm K−1, which can be compared to the value for metals. On the other hand, the material's density is comparable to that of polymers and is consequently much lower than that of typical metals. Considering these advantageous properties, it is anticipated that these composites can play a leading role in the development of new, low cost packaging materials. [Display omitted] •The thermal conductivity of different carbon crystal styles was calculated and proved with practice.•CF composite with metal-level thermal conductivity, suitable CTE and low density was constructed.•Method aligning 1D micro filler on single specific direction with a mechanical method was proposed.•The alignment of 1D micro filler mixed in medium during stretching was described with mathematic method.