Evaluation of Surfactants on Graphene Dispersion and Thermal Performance for Heat Dissipation Coating

With the development of thin and high-power electronic devices, heat dissipation has become an important and urgent issue in thermal management. In this study, a water-based epoxy was used as a polymer matrix to prepare heat dissipation coatings utilizing low volatile organic compounds, which were environmentally friendly and had a high heat-dissipating performance. Graphene flakes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes and aluminum oxide particles were used as fillers for preparing the heat dissipation coating. The graphene flakes and multi-walled carbon nanotubes were dispersed in a water-based epoxy by adding sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate and poly (dimethyldiallylammonium chloride). These two surfactants were combined as a dispersant to improve the dispersibility of the carbon nanomaterials in the water-based epoxy. The synergistic effect of the well-dispersed fillers improved the heat-dissipating performance. The experimental results show that the infrared emissivity of the heat dissipation film was 0.96 after filling 30 wt% aluminum oxide particles, 2 wt% graphene flakes and 2 wt% multi-walled carbon nanotubes into a water-based epoxy. The heat dissipation film reduced the thermal equilibrium temperature of the bare copper panel by 17.8 °C under a heating power of 10 W. The film was applied in a heat dissipation test on a 15 W LED bulb, and the thermal equilibrium temperature was reduced by 21.3 °C. The results demonstrate that the carbon nanomaterial-based heat dissipation coating with a water-based epoxy could significantly reduce the thermal equilibrium temperature, giving a high potential for the application of thermal management.