Synergistic Effect of Aligned Graphene Nanosheets in Graphene Foam for High‐Performance Thermally Conductive Composites

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2019-05, Vol.31 (19), p.e1900199-n/a
• Main Authors: Wu, Zhaohong, Xu, Chuan, Ma, Chaoqun, Liu, Zhibo, Cheng, Hui‐Ming, Ren, Wencai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alignment; Composite materials; composites; Electronic devices; Graphene; graphene foam; graphene nanosheets; Heat conductivity; Heat transfer; Light emitting diodes; Materials science; Nanosheets; Natural rubber; Percolation; Polymer matrix composites; Synergistic effect; Thermal conductivity
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201900199

Graphene shows a great potential for high‐performance thermally conductive composite applications because of its extremely high thermal conductivity. However, the graphene‐based polymer composites reported so far only have a limited thermal conductivity, with the highest thermal conductivity enhancement (TCE) per 1 vol% graphene less than 900%. Here, a continuous network of graphene foam (GF), filled with aligned graphene nanosheets (GNs), is shown to be an ideal filler structure for thermally conductive composite materials. Compared to previous reports, a clear thermal percolation is observed at a low graphene loading fraction. The GNs/GF/natural rubber composite shows the highest TCE of 8100% (6.2 vol% graphene loading) ever reported at room temperature, which gives a record‐high TCE per 1 vol% graphene of 1300%. Further analyses reveal a significant synergistic effect between the aligned GNs and 3D interconnected GF, which plays a key role in the formation of a thermal percolation network to remarkably improve the thermal conductivity of the composites. Additionally, the use of this composite for efficient heat dissipation of light‐emitting diode (LED) lamps is demonstrated. These findings provide valuable guidance to design high‐performance graphene‐based thermally conductive materials, and open up the possibility for the use of graphene in high‐power electronic devices. A network of graphene foam (GF) filled with aligned graphene nanosheets (GNs) is found to be an ideal filler structure for thermally conductive composites, which show a clear thermal percolation and the highest thermal‐conductivity enhancement of 8100% ever reported at a low graphene loading fraction of 6.2 vol%. Further analyses reveal a significant synergistic effect between GNs and GF.