Generation of Self-Assembled 3D Network in TPU by Insertion of Al2O3/ h-BN Hybrid for Thermal Conductivity Enhancement

Materials (Basel). 2021 Jan 6;14(2):238. doi: 10.3390/ma14020238.

Abstract

Thermal management has become one of the crucial factors in designing electronic equipment and therefore creating composites with high thermal conductivity is necessary. In this work, a new insight on hybrid filler strategy is proposed to enhance the thermal conductivity in Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). Firstly, spherical aluminium oxide/hexagonal boron nitride (ABN) functional hybrid fillers are synthesized by the spray drying process. Then, ABN/TPU thermally conductive composite material is produced by melt mixing and hot pressing. Then, ABN/TPU thermally conductive composite material is produced by melt mixing and hot pressing. Our results demonstrate that the incorporation of spherical hybrid ABN filler assists in the formation of a three-dimensional continuous heat conduction structure that enhances the thermal conductivity of the neat thermoplastic TPU matrix. Hence, we present a valuable method for preparing the thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high thermal conductivity, and this method can also be applied to large-scale manufacturing.

Keywords: Al2O3/h-BN hybrid; TPU; self-assembled 3D network; thermal conductivity; thermal interface materials (TIMs).