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Nano Research 2023, 16(2): 2572-2578 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5023-x
Research Article | Issue | Published: 23 November 2022

Extraordinary thermal conductivity of polyvinyl alcohol composite by aligning densified carbon fiber via magnetic field

Show Author's Information Xiaoxiao Guo1,  Shujian Cheng1,  Bo Yan1,  Yile Li1,  Yinghui Zhou1,2,  Weiwei Cai1,2,  Yufeng Zhang1,2( ),  Xue-ao Zhang1,2( )
College of Physical Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Jiujiang research institute of Xiamen University, Jiujiang 360404, China
Keywords:
thermal conductivity, magnetic field, carbon fiber, polyvinyl alcohol, Landau diamagnetism
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Guo X, Cheng S, Yan B, et al. Extraordinary thermal conductivity of polyvinyl alcohol composite by aligning densified carbon fiber via magnetic field. Nano Research, 2023, 16(2): 2572-2578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5023-x
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high through-plane thermal conductivity are urgently desired to avoid overheating of high-power density electronics. Introducing and aligning fillers in polymer matrixes via magnetic field is a promising method to improve the thermal conductivity of the polymer. However, either the fillers need to be modified with magnetic particles or a strong magnetic field is needed for good alignment in high filler content. This prevents further improvement of the through-plane thermal conductivity. Herein, mesophase pitch-based carbon fibers (MPCFs) with a content as high as 76 wt.% are aligned vertically in water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) under a low magnetic field (~ 0.4 T), forming a vertically aligned MPCF (VAMPCF)/PVA composite with an extraordinary through-plane thermal conductivity of 86 W/(m·K), which is higher than that of many alloys. In addition, both theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the critical intensity of the magnetic field needed for good alignment of the fillers depends on their size and magnetic susceptibility. Furthermore, the water solubility of PVA makes it easy to recycle MPCFs. This study offers an inspired venue to develop excellent and eco-friendly TIMs to meet ever increasing demand in heat dissipation for electronics.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Extraordinary thermal conductivity of polyvinyl alcohol composite by aligning densified carbon fiber via magnetic field

Show Author's information Xiaoxiao Guo1, Shujian Cheng1, Bo Yan1, Yile Li1, Yinghui Zhou1,2, Weiwei Cai1,2, Yufeng Zhang1,2( ), Xue-ao Zhang1,2( )
College of Physical Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Jiujiang research institute of Xiamen University, Jiujiang 360404, China

Abstract

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high through-plane thermal conductivity are urgently desired to avoid overheating of high-power density electronics. Introducing and aligning fillers in polymer matrixes via magnetic field is a promising method to improve the thermal conductivity of the polymer. However, either the fillers need to be modified with magnetic particles or a strong magnetic field is needed for good alignment in high filler content. This prevents further improvement of the through-plane thermal conductivity. Herein, mesophase pitch-based carbon fibers (MPCFs) with a content as high as 76 wt.% are aligned vertically in water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) under a low magnetic field (~ 0.4 T), forming a vertically aligned MPCF (VAMPCF)/PVA composite with an extraordinary through-plane thermal conductivity of 86 W/(m·K), which is higher than that of many alloys. In addition, both theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the critical intensity of the magnetic field needed for good alignment of the fillers depends on their size and magnetic susceptibility. Furthermore, the water solubility of PVA makes it easy to recycle MPCFs. This study offers an inspired venue to develop excellent and eco-friendly TIMs to meet ever increasing demand in heat dissipation for electronics.

Keywords: thermal conductivity, magnetic field, carbon fiber, polyvinyl alcohol, Landau diamagnetism

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 12 July 2022
Revised: 14 August 2022
Accepted: 07 September 2022
Published: 23 November 2022
Issue date: February 2023

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2022

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11874423 and 12174321) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 20720190050).

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