Wood‐Derived, Vertically Aligned, and Densely Interconnected 3D SiC Frameworks for Anisotropically Highly Thermoconductive Polymer Composites

• Published in: Advanced science Vol. 9; no. 7; pp. e2103592 - n/a
• Main Authors: Zhou, Xiaonan, Xu, Songsong, Wang, Zhongyu, Hao, Liucheng, Shi, Zhongqi, Zhao, Junping, Zhang, Qiaogen, Ishizaki, Kozo, Wang, Bo, Yang, Jianfeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2022; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Anisotropy; Biomass; Boron; Carbon; Ceramics; Composite materials; Efficiency; Electronics; epoxy composites; Heat; High temperature; Mechanical properties; Polymers; SiC; Silicon; thermal conductivities; Thermal Conductivity; thermal expansions; Wood; thermal conductivities; SiC; epoxy composites; thermal expansions; anisotropy
• ISSN: 2198-3844; 2198-3844
• DOI: 10.1002/advs.202103592

Construction of a vertically aligned and densely interconnected ordered 3D filler framework in a polymer matrix is a challenge to attain significant thermal conductivity (TC) enhancement efficiency. Fortunately, many biomaterials with unique microstructures can be found in nature. With inspiration from wood, artificial composites can be rationally designed to achieve desired properties. Herein, the authors report a facile and effective approach to fabricate anisotropic polymer composites by biotemplate ceramization technology and subsequent vacuum impregnation of epoxy resin. The hierarchical microstructure of wood is perfectly replicated in the cellular biomass derived SiC (bioSiC) framework by carbothermal reduction. Owing to the anisotropic architecture of bioSiC, the epoxy composite with vertically aligned dense SiC microchannels shows interesting properties, including a high TC (10.27 W m−1K−1), a significant enhancement efficiency (259 per 1 vol% loading), an outstanding anisotropic TC ratio (5.77), an extremely low coefficient of linear thermal expansion (12.23 ppm K−1), a high flexural strength (222 MPa), and an excellent flame resistance. These results demonstrate that this approach is expected to open a new avenue for design and preparation of high performance thermal management materials to address the heat dissipation of modern electronics. The anisotropic wood microstructure is faultlessly duplicated into biomass derived SiC/epoxy composite by biotemplate ceramization technology and subsequent impregnation of epoxy resin. The composite exhibits a high thermal conductivity of 10.27 W m−1 K−1 corresponding to a significant enhancement efficiency, and a low coefficient of linear thermal expansion of 12.23 ppm K−1.