Transparent, High-Thermal-Conductivity Ultradrawn Polyethylene/Graphene Nanocomposite Films

Xinglong Pan; Lihua Shen; Albertus P H J Schenning; Cees W M Bastiaansen

doi:10.1002/adma.201904348

Transparent, High-Thermal-Conductivity Ultradrawn Polyethylene/Graphene Nanocomposite Films

Adv Mater. 2019 Oct;31(40):e1904348. doi: 10.1002/adma.201904348. Epub 2019 Aug 22.

Authors

Xinglong Pan¹, Lihua Shen², Albertus P H J Schenning^{1

3}, Cees W M Bastiaansen^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Stimuli-responsive Functional Materials and Devices (SFD), Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
³ Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
⁴ School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary, University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.

PMID: 31441142
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201904348

Abstract

Transparent, ultradrawn, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/graphene nanocomposite films with a high thermal conductivity are successfully fabricated by solution-casting and solid-state drawing. It is found that the low optical transmittance (<75%) of the ultradrawn UHMWPE/graphene composite films is drastically improved (>90%) by adding 2-(2H-benzontriazol-2-yl)-4,6-ditertpentylphenol (BZT) as a second additive. This high transmission is interpreted in terms of a reduced void content in the composite films and the improved dispersion of graphene both of which decrease light scattering. The high thermal conductivity is attributed to the π-π interaction between BZT and graphene. In addition, a high specific thermal conductivity of ≈75 W m^-1 K^-1 ρ^-1 of the ultradrawn UHMWPE/graphene/BZT composite films is obtained, which is higher than most metals and polymer nanocomposite. These transparent films are potentially excellent candidates for thermal management in various applications due to a combination of low density, ease of processing, and high thermal conductivity.

Keywords: graphene; polyethylene; thermal conductivity; transparency; ultradrawn composite.

Grants and funding

CSC2001706540053/China Scholarship Council