Thermal properties of polymer‐derived ceramic reinforced with boron nitride nanotubes

• Published in: Journal of the American Ceramic Society 2019-12, Vol.102 (12), p.7584-7593
• Main Authors: Jia, Yujun, Ajayi, Tosin D., Morales, Justin, Chowdhury, Md Atiqur Rahman, Sauti, Godfrey, Chu, Sang‐Hyon, Park, Cheol, Xu, Chengying
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boron nitride; boron nitride nanotubes; Ceramics; Heat conductivity; Heat transfer; High temperature; Nanotubes; Oxidation; Percolation; polymer derived ceramic; Polymer matrix composites; Polymers; Thermal conductivity; Thermal stability; Thermodynamic properties
• ISSN: 0002-7820; 1551-2916
• DOI: 10.1111/jace.16670

We report the thermal properties of boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) reinforced ceramic composites using the polymer derived ceramic (PDC) processing route. The nano‐composites had a BNNT loading of up to 35.4 vol.%. TGA results showed that nano‐composites have good thermal stability up to 900°C in air. BNNTs in nano‐composites survived in an oxidizing environment up to 900°C, revealing that nano‐composites can be used for high temperature applications. Thermal conductivity of PDC reinforced with 35.4 vol.% BNNT was measured as 4.123 W/(m·K) at room temperature, which is a 2100 % increase compared to that of pristine PDC. The thermal conductivity value increases with the increase of BNNT content. A thermal conductivity percolation phenomenon appeared when the BNNT content increased to 36 ± 5 vol.%. The results of this study showed that BNNTs could effectively improve the thermal conductivity of PDC materials. BNNT reinforced PDC could be used as thermal structural materials in a harsh environment at temperatures up to 900°C. BNNT‐PDC nano‐composites (35.4 vol.% BNNT) show a thermal conductivity of 4.123 W/(m•K) at room temperature and have good thermal stability up to 900°C in air.