Thermally Conductive Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Composite with Vertically Aligned Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Thermal Engineering

Background:

• Electronic devices generate significant heat due to high power consumption and component density.
• Effective thermal interface materials (TIMs) are essential for heat dissipation in electronics.
• Random filler distribution in composites limits thermal transfer; aligned anisotropic fillers like hexagonal boron nitride (BN) offer improved performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel thermal interface material with enhanced thermal conductivity for electronic devices.
• To investigate the effect of vertically aligned hexagonal boron nitride (BN) in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix.
• To optimize the manufacturing process using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.

Main Methods:

• Employed a repeat blade coating method to align hexagonal boron nitride (BN) horizontally within a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix.
• Prepared vertically aligned BN/PDMS (V-BP) composites through flipping and cutting techniques.
• Utilized computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to study the impact of coating velocity on composite performance.

Main Results:

• The V-BP composite with 30 wt.% BN achieved an out-of-plane thermal conductivity of up to 1.24 W/mK.
• V-BP composites demonstrated significantly enhanced heat dissipation capacities compared to pure PDMS.
• Increasing coating velocity by CFD simulation enhanced out-of-plane thermal conductivity by approximately 40%.

Conclusions:

• Vertically aligned BN in PDMS composites is a promising approach for advanced thermal interface materials.
• The developed V-BP composites offer excellent heat dissipation, low density, and electrical insulation for electronic applications.
• The study provides a scalable method for producing high-performance TIMs to manage heat in densely integrated electronics.