Skeleton designable SGP/EA resin composites with integrated thermal conductivity, electromagnetic interference shielding, and mechanical performances

For the better operation of future electronic devices in complex situations, higher requirements of mechanical performance, especially bearing capacity, were put forward to functional composites. Therefore, the mechanical performance enhancement of functional composites had important practical application value. In this work, we reported a short carbon fiber-graphene nanoplatelets-polydimethylsiloxane (SGP)/epoxy acrylic resin (EA resin) composites with integrated thermal conductivity, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and mechanical performances using a combination method of 3D printing and vacuum impregnation. In the SGP/EA resin composite, EA resin skeleton with different cell shapes was responsible for the bearing capacity of composite samples, while the thermal conductivity and EMI shielding performance were provided by the SGP compound. When the cell shape of skeleton was circular and the filling contents in SGP compound was 15 wt% SCF and 6 wt % GNP, the SGP/EA resin composite presented best combination properties of 323.5 kPa compressive modulus, 2.13 W/(m.K) thermal conductivity, and 45.93 dB EMI shielding performance at 12.4 GHz. This work provided a facile, low-cost, and scalable method to fabricate composite samples with integrated thermal conductivity, EMI shielding, and mechanical performances. These multifunctional composites are highly promising for applications concerning heat dissipation, EMI shielding, and load-bearing devices.

Automated summary

Higher requirements for mechanical performance, especially bearing capacity, are needed for functional composites in order to improve the operation of future electronic devices in complex situations. This study presents a short carbon fiber-graphene nanoplatelets-polydimethylsiloxane (SGP)/epoxy acrylic resin (EA resin) composite that integrates thermal conductivity, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and mechanical performances. The composite was fabricated using a combination method of 3D printing and vacuum impregnation. The results show that the composite with circular EA resin skeleton and 15 wt% short carbon fiber (SCF) and 6 wt% graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) in the SGP compound exhibited the best combination properties, including a compressive modulus of 323.5 kPa, thermal conductivity of 2.13 W/(m·K), and EMI shielding performance of 45.93 dB at 12.4 GHz.