Category:

Author(s): Ping Zhang, Qiang Li, YiMin Xuan

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, cnts, copper, environmental scanning electron microscope, environmental scanning electron microscope (esem), epoxy, esem, fe-sem, field emission scanning electron microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope (fesem), nanoparticles, polymer composites, thermal conductivity, thermal contact resistance, thermal interface materials, tims, viscosity

Abstract: Raw multi-walled carbon nanotubes (r-MWCNTs) and Cu nanoparticles are dispersed in an epoxy matrix in varying quantities to create composite polymers with enhanced thermal conductivities. A study was then conducted to determine if the boundary thermal contact resistance could be reduced by increasing the thermal conductivity. The boundary thermal contact resistance was found to be approximately constant across all samples containing the copper nanoparticles. The boundary thermal contact resistance was found to be much higher for the composite samples containing only r-MWCNTs than the other composites because of the high elasticity modulus of the nanotubes.

Reference: Composites: Part A, 57 (2014) 1-8

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2013.10.022