Thermally conductive polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composites were prepared by incorporating carbon fibers (CFs) with different lengths (286.6 ± 7.1 and 150.0 ± 2.3 µm) via cold pressing, followed by sintering. The length effects of the CF on the thermal conductivity, polymer crystallization behaviors, and mechanical properties of the PVDF composites were studied. The through-plane thermal conductivity of the PVDF composites increased significantly with the rise in CF loadings. The highest thermal conductivity of 2.89 W/(m∙K) was achieved for the PVDF composites containing 40 wt.% shorter CFs, ~17 times higher than that of the pure PVDF (~0.17 W/(m∙K)). The shorter CFs had more pronounced thermal conductive enhancement effects than the original longer CFs at higher filler loadings. CFs increased the storage modulus and the glass transition temperature of the PVDF. This work provides a new way to develop thermally conductive, mechanically, and chemically stable polymer composites by introducing CFs with different lengths.
Keywords: carbon fiber; polymer composites; polyvinylidene fluoride; thermal conductivity.