Soft, Tough, Antifatigue Fracture Elastomer Composites with Low Thermal Resistance through Synergistic Crack Pinning...

Soft elastomer composites are promising functional materials for engineer interfaces, where the miniaturized electronic devices have triggered increasing demand for effective heat dissipation, high fracture energy, and antifatigue fracture. However, such a combination of these properties can be rarely met in the same elastomer composites simultaneously. Here a strategy is presented to fabricate a soft, extreme fracture tough (3316 J m^-2) and antifatigue fracture (1052.56 J m⁻²) polydimethylsiloxane/aluminum elastomer composite. These outstanding properties are achieved by optimizing the dangling chains and spherical aluminum fillers, resulting in the combined effects of crack pinning and interfacial slippage. The dangling chains that lengthen the polymer chains between cross-linked points pin the cracks and the rigid fillers obstruct the cracks, enhancing the energy per unit area needed for fatigue failure. The dangling chains also promote polymer/filler interfacial slippage, enabling effective deflection and blunting of an advancing crack tip, thus enhancing mechanical energy dissipation. Moreover, the elastomer composite exhibits low thermal resistance (≈0.12 K cm² W^-1), due to the formation of a thermally conductive network. These remarkable characteristics render this elastomer composite promising for application as a thermal interface material in electronic devices.