Ultrahigh-Aspect-Ratio Boron Nitride Nanosheets Leading to Superhigh In-Plane Thermal Conductivity of Foldable Heat Spreader

The rapid development of integrated circuits and electronic devices creates a strong demand for highly thermally conductive yet electrically insulating composites to efficiently solve hot spot problems during device operation. On the basis of these considerations, hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) have been regarded as promising fillers to fabricate polymer matrix composites. However, so far an efficient approach to prepare ultrahigh-aspect-ratio BNNS with large lateral size while maintaining an atomically thin nature is still lacking, seriously restricting further improvement of the thermal conductivity for BNNS/polymer composites. Here, a rapid and high-yield method based on a microfluidization technique is developed to obtain exfoliated BNNS with a record high aspect ratio of approximate to 1500 and a low degree of defects. A foldable and electrically insulating film made of such a BNNS and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix through filtration exhibits an in-plane thermal conductivity of 67.6 W m(-1) K-1 at a BNNS loading of 83 wt %, leading to a record high value of thermal conductivity enhancement (approximate to 35 500). The composite film then acts as a heat spreader for heat dissipation of high-power LED modules and shows superior cooling efficiency compared to commercial flexible copper clad laminate. Our findings provide a practical route to produce electrically insulating polymer composites with high thermal conductivity for thermal management applications in modern electronic devices.

Automated summary

A rapid and high-yield method based on a microfluidization technique is developed to obtain exfoliated BNNS with a record high aspect ratio of approximate to 1500 and low degree of defects. The composite film made of BNNS and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix exhibits an in-plane thermal conductivity of 67.6 W m(-1) K-1 at a BNNS loading of 83 wt %, leading to a record high value of thermal conductivity enhancement (approximate to 35,500). This provides a practical route to produce electrically insulating polymer composites with high thermal conductivity for thermal management applications in modern electronic devices.