Thermal and electrical conductivity of Al(OH)3 covered graphene oxide nanosheet/epoxy composites

Al(OH)(3) functionalized graphene composites (Al-GO) were prepared using a simple sol-gel method. In this protocol, graphene oxide (GO) was prepared according to the Hummers method and functionalized to enhance its reactivity with aluminum isopropoxide by a LiAlH4 treatment. The functionalized graphene sheets were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. These analyses confirmed that GO had been fabricated and the Al(OH)(3) layer could have a homogeneous distribution with large and dense coverage onto GO sheets. In addition, the thermal and electrical conductivity of the epoxy composites with GO and Al-GO fillers were measured. The thermal conductivities of the composites with graphene-based fillers were enhanced by the addition of fillers. In particular, the thermal conductivity of GO/epoxy composite containing 3 wt% was approximately two times higher than that of pure epoxy resin. In addition, the electrical conductivity of Al-GO embedded composites degenerated compared to GO composites.