Simultaneously Enhanced Thermal Conductivity and Breakdown Performance of Micro/Nano-BN Co-Doped Epoxy Composites

Micro/nano- BN co-doped epoxy composites were prepared and their thermal conductivity, breakdown strength at power frequency and voltage endurance time under high frequency bipolar square wave voltage were investigated. The thermal conductivity and breakdown performance were enhanced simultaneously in the composite with a loading concentration of 20 wt% BN at a micro/nano proportion of 95/5. The breakdown strength of 132 kV/mm at power frequency, the thermal conductivity of 0.81 W·m^-1·K^-1 and voltage endurance time of 166 s were obtained in the composites, which were approximately 28%, 286% and 349% higher than that of pristine epoxy resin. It is proposed that thermal conductive pathways are mainly constructed by micro-BN, leading to improved thermal conductivity and voltage endurance time. A model was introduced to illustrate the enhancement of the breakdown strength. The epoxy composites with high thermal conductivity and excellent breakdown performance could be feasible for insulating materials in high-frequency devices.