Aluminum Borate/Boron Nitride Nanosheet Fibers for Enhancing the Thermal Conductivity of Polymer Composites

Two-dimensional nanomaterials is an intensive research area, but the anisotropy of two-dimensional nanomaterials limits its performance release and application. As a typical two-dimensional nanomaterials, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) exhibit distinct properties in many fields. In order to realize full utilization of its advantageous performance, researchers carried out a large number of investigation methods. In this work, an efficiently orienting strategy of BNNS was reported in which aluminum borate welds the BNNSs, which displays weak interaction between adjacent nanosheets. Taking it as thermally conductive filler, the thermal transportation performance of poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based composites was investigated. Owing to the interaction of BNNSs, the composites exhibit significant thermal conductivity enhancement. The sample's surface temperature in the heating and cooling process was also captured by an IR thermal camera to further reveal the sample's heat-transfer property. This work points at an effective strategy to construct a phonon-transfer channel in thermal management materials by controlling the two-dimensional nanomaterial orientation and has potential applications in other nanomaterial fields.

Automated summary

This study reported an effective strategy for orienting boron nitride nanosheets by using aluminum borate welding to achieve weak interactions between nanosheets, thereby enhancing the thermal conductivity of composites. The research demonstrates the potential application value of this orienting strategy in constructing phonon transfer channels in thermal management materials.