Exploring Trade-offs in Thermal Interface Materials:The Impact of Polymer-Filler Interfaces on Thermal Conductivity and Thixotropy

Effective thermal transport across solid-solid interfaces which is essential in thermal interface materials(TIMs),necessitates both optimal thixotropy and high thermal conductivity.The role of filler surface modification,a fundamental aspect of TIM fabrication,in the influence of these properties is not fully understood.This study employs the use of a silane coupling agent(SCA)to modify alumina,integrating experimental approaches with molecular dynamics simulations,to elucidate the interface effects on thixotropy and thermal conductivity in polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)-based TIMs.Our findings reveal that the variations of SCAs modify both interface binding energy and transition layer thickness.The interface binding energy restricts macromolecular segmental relaxation near the interface,hindering desirable thixotropy and bond line thickness.On the contrary,the thickness of the transition layer at the interface positively influences thermal conductivity,facilitating the transport of phonons between the polymer and filler.Consequently,selecting an optimal SCA allows a balance between traditionally conflicting goals of high thermal conductivity and minimal bond line thickness,achieving an impressively low interface thermal resistance of just 2.45-4.29 K·mm^(2)·W^(-1)at275.8 kPa.

Emerging Flexible Thermally Conductive Films:Mechanism,Fabrication,Application

Effective thermal management is quite urgent for electronics owing to their ever-growing integration degree,operation frequency and power density,and the main strategy of thermal management is to remove excess energy from electronics to outside by thermal conductive materials.Compared to the conventional thermal management materials,flexible thermally conductive films with high in-plane thermal conductivity,as emerging candidates,have aroused greater interest in the last decade,which show great potential in thermal management applications of next-generation devices.However,a comprehensive review of flexible thermally conductive films is rarely reported.Thus,we review recent advances of both intrinsic polymer films and polymer-based composite films with ultrahigh in-plane thermal conductivity,with deep understandings of heat transfer mechanism,processing methods to enhance thermal conductivity,optimization strategies to reduce interface thermal resistance and their potential applications.Lastly,challenges and opportunities for the future development of flexible thermally conductive films are also discussed.

Unveiling phonon frequency-dependent mechanism of heat transport across stacking fault in silicon carbide

Stacking faults(SFs)are often present in silicon carbide(SiC)and affect its thermal and heat-transport properties.However,it is unclear how SFs influence thermal transport.Using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics simulations,we studied phonon transport in SiC materials with an SF.Compared to perfect SiC materials,the SF can reduce thermal conductivity.This is caused by the additional interface thermal resistance(ITR)of SF,which is difficult to capture by the previous phenomenological models.By analyzing the spectral heat flux,we find that SF reduces the contribution of low-frequency(7.5 THz-12 THz)phonons to the heat flux,which can be attributed to SF reducing the phonon lifetime and group velocity,especially in the low-frequency range.The SF hinders phonon transport and results in an effective interface thermal resistance around the SF.Our results provide insight into the microscopic mechanism of the effect of defects on heat transport and have guiding significance for the regulation of the thermal conductivity of materials.

Simultaneous manipulations of thermal expansion and conductivity in symbiotic ScTaO_(4)/SmTaO_(4) composites via multiscale effects

Effective manipulations of thermal expansion and conductivity are significant for improving operational performances of protective coatings,thermoelectric,and radiators.This work uncovers determinant mechanisms of the thermal expansion and conductivity of symbiotic ScTaO_(4)/SmTaO_(4) composites as thermal/environmental barrier coatings(T/EBCs),and we consider the effects of interface stress and thermal resistance.The weak bonding and interface stress among composite grains manipulate coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE)stretching from 6.4×10^(−6) to 10.7×10^(−6) K^(−1) at 1300℃,which gets close to that of substrates in T/EBC systems.The multiscale effects,including phonon scattering at the interface,mitigation of the phonon speed(vp),and lattice point defects,synergistically depress phonon thermal transports,and we estimate the proportions of different parts.The interface thermal resistance(R)reduces the thermal conductivity(k)by depressing phonon speed and scattering phonons because of different acoustic properties and weak bonding between symbiotic ScTaO_(4) and SmTaO_(4) ceramics in the composites.This study proves that CTE of tantalates can be artificially regulated to match those of different substrates to expand their applications,and the uncovered multiscale effects can be used to manipulate thermal transports of various materials.

Advances of CNT-based systems in thermal management

Effective thermal management has become extremely urgent for electronics due to the massive heat originated from the ever-rising power density.With the merits of high thermal conductivity,good chemical stability and desirable mechanical properties,carbon nanotubes(CNTs)are considered to have great potential to be widely used in heat dissipation devices.This article describes the progress on thermal conductivity of CNT-reinforced composites,aligned CNT materials(aligned CNT arrays,films/buckypapers and fibers)as high thermal conductors,experimental and theoretical results of CNT-substrate interface resistance,and utilizations of CNTs in the passive heat dissipation(natural convection,heat radiation,and phase-change heat transfer).Finally,the challenges and prospects are discussed to provide some hints in the future studies.It is believed that CNTs can play an important role in thermal management of electronics,especially in the portable electronic devices.