Interacted boron nitride/Mxene hybrids with vertically aligned networks for improving the thermal conductivity, electromagnetic wave absorption and mechanical properties for the polymer-based thermal interface materials

• Published in: Composites. Part A, Applied science and manufacturing Applied science and manufacturing, 2023-11, Vol.174, p.107727, Article 107727
• Main Authors: An, Dong, He, Rizheng, Chen, Jiaqi, Li, Zhiwei, Sun, Zhijian, Yu, Huitao, Liu, Yaqing, Zhang, Zhiyi, Feng, Wei, Wong, Chingping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: absorption; boron; boron nitride; electromagnetic radiation; electronics; freeze drying; hydrogen; hydroxylation; thermal conductivity
• ISSN: 1359-835X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2023.107727

Polymer-based thermal interface materials (TIMs) with good comprehensive properties remains a severe challenge for the advanced electronics. Herein, the vertically aligned boron nitride-Mxene (BN-Mxene) hybrids with improved surface interaction were introduced to enhance the thermal conductivity of the polydimethylsiloxane-based (PDMS) TIMs. Specifically, the BN-Mxene hybrids with improved surface interactions were mainly relay on the hydrogen and π-π bonds from the hydroxylated boron nitride (BN-OH) and etched Ti₃AlC₂ (MAX). Meanwhile, the vertically aligned structures of the obtained TIMs were formed through the modified bidirectional freeze-drying approaches. As a result, the boron nitride-Mxene /polydimethylsiloxane (BN-Mxene/PDMS) TIMs exhibited the elevated through-plane thermal conductivity (2.03 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹), good electromagnetic wave absorption (−49.37 dB, 5.8 GHz) and the compression elasticity properties at a filler loading of 15 wt%. Importantly, the findings provided a bright prospect in the application of next-generation electronics.