Mechanical and Functional Tradeoffs in Multiphase Liquid Metal, Solid Particle Soft Composites

Soft materials with high thermal conductivity are critical for flexible electronics, energy storage and transfer, and human‐interface devices and robotics. However, fundamental heat transport limitations in soft and deformable materials present significant challenges for achieving high thermal condu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced functional materials 2018-11, Vol.28 (45), p.n/a
Main Authors: Tutika, Ravi, Zhou, Shihuai H., Napolitano, Ralph E., Bartlett, Michael D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Casting
Deformation
Elastomers
Electronics
Energy storage
Fillers
Flexible components
Formability
Heat conductivity
Heat transfer
high thermal conductivity
Integrated circuits
Intermetallic compounds
liquid metal
Materials science
Mechanical analysis
multifunctional soft composites
Multiphase
multiphase composites
Particulate composites
Product design
stretchable electronics
Thermal conductivity
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Summary:Soft materials with high thermal conductivity are critical for flexible electronics, energy storage and transfer, and human‐interface devices and robotics. However, fundamental heat transport limitations in soft and deformable materials present significant challenges for achieving high thermal conductivity. Here, a systematic study of soft composites with solid, liquid, and solid–liquid multiphase metal fillers dispersed in elastomers reveals key strategies to tune the thermal‐mechanical response of soft materials. Experiments supported by thermodynamic and kinetic modeling demonstrate that multiphase systems quickly form intermetallics that solidify and degrade mechanical response with modest gains in thermal conductivity. In contrast, liquid metal inclusions provide benefits over solid and multiphase fillers as they can be loaded up to 80% by volume with the composites being electrically insulating, soft (
ISSN:1616-301X
1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.201804336