Epoxy Composites with High Thermal Conductivity by Constructing Three-Dimensional Carbon Fiber/Carbon/Nickel Networks Using an Electroplating Method

Ying Wang; Bo Tang; Yuan Gao; Xinfeng Wu; Jin Chen; Liming Shan; Kai Sun; Yuantao Zhao; Ke Yang; Jinhong Yu; Wenge Li

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c02694

Epoxy Composites with High Thermal Conductivity by Constructing Three-Dimensional Carbon Fiber/Carbon/Nickel Networks Using an Electroplating Method

ACS Omega. 2021 Jul 15;6(29):19238-19251. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c02694. eCollection 2021 Jul 27.

Authors

Ying Wang¹, Bo Tang¹, Yuan Gao^{1

2}, Xinfeng Wu¹, Jin Chen^{1

3}, Liming Shan¹, Kai Sun¹, Yuantao Zhao¹, Ke Yang⁴, Jinhong Yu⁵, Wenge Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Merchant Marine College, College of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China.
² Purchasing and Supplying Logistics Center Department, COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201324, China.
³ Electronics Materials and Systems Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 58 Göteborg, Sweden.
⁴ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Related Technologies, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Protective Technologies, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China.

Abstract

Heat dissipation problem is the primary factor restricting the service life of an electronic component. The thermal conductivity of materials has become a bottleneck that hinders the development of the electronic information industry (such as light-emitting diodes, 5G mobile phones). Therefore, the research on improving the thermal conductivity of materials has a very important theoretical value and a practical application value. Whether the thermally conductive filler in polymer composites can form a highly thermal conductive pathway is a key issue at this stage. The carbon fiber/carbon felt (CF/C felt) prepared in the study has a three-dimensional continuous network structure. The nickel-coated carbon fiber/carbon felt (CF/C/Ni felt) was fabricated by an electroplating deposition method. Three-dimensional CF/C/Ni/epoxy composites were manufactured by vacuum-assisted liquid-phase impregnation. By forming connection points between the adjacent carbon fibers, the thermal conduction path inside the felt can be improved so as to improve the thermal conductivity of the CF/C/Ni/epoxy composite. The thermal conductivity of the CF/C/Ni/epoxy composite (in-plane K_∥) is up to 2.13 W/(m K) with 14.0 wt % CF/C and 3.70 wt % Ni particles (60 min electroplating deposition). This paper provides a theoretical basis for the development of high thermal conductivity and high-performance composite materials urgently needed in industrial production and high-tech fields.