Graphene -- Based Nanocomposites as Highly Efficient Thermal Interface Materials

We found that an optimized mixture of graphene and multilayer graphene - produced by the high-yield inexpensive liquid-phase-exfoliation technique - can lead to an extremely strong enhancement of the cross-plane thermal conductivity K of the composite. The "laser flash" measurements revealed a record-high enhancement of K by 2300 % in the graphene-based polymer at the filler loading fraction f =10 vol. %. It was determined that a relatively high concentration of single-layer and bilayer graphene flakes (~10-15%) present simultaneously with thicker multilayers of large lateral size (~ 1 micrometer) were essential for the observed unusual K enhancement. The thermal conductivity of a commercial thermal grease was increased from an initial value of ~5.8 W/mK to K=14 W/mK at the small loading f=2%, which preserved all mechanical properties of the hybrid. Our modeling results suggest that graphene - multilayer graphene nanocomposite used as the thermal interface material outperforms those with carbon nanotubes or metal nanoparticles owing to graphene's aspect ratio and lower Kapitza resistance at the graphene - matrix interface.Comment: 4 figure

Functionalized graphene sheets/polycarbonate nanocomposites compatibilized by poly(phenylenevinylene)

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Anisotropic Elasticity of Quasi-One-Component Polymer Nanocomposites

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Cross-Linking of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Polymeric Amines

Functionalization of carbon nanotubes is considered as an essential step to enable their manipulation and application in potential end-use products. In this paper we introduce a new approach to functionalize multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) by applying an amidation-type grafting reaction with amino-functionalized alternating polyketones. The functionalized MWNTs were characterized by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), element analysis, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Around 40 wt % polyamines based on the total weight of the MWNTs can be covalently attached to the surface of the MWNTs. It is found that polyamines act as cross-linking agents to interconnect or cross-link the MWNTs within and between bundles, as demonstrated by SEM and TEM analysis. After cross-linking, the functionalized MWNTs are insoluble in any solvent. The cross-linked MWNTs can be melt-blended into polyethylene, and the resulting composites show comparable mechanical properties to those obtained by simple blending of “un-cross-linked” nanotubes with polyethylene.