Tailoring Highly Thermal Conductive Properties of Te/MoS2/Ag Heterostructure Nanocomposites Using a Bottom-Up Approach

Ever-increasing packaging and power densities of modern electronic devices in the present More-than-Moore technology era demand higher performance thermal interface materials (TIMs). However, conventional composite TIMs require higher loading to achieve better thermal conductive property, resulting in a mechanical problem. The poor wetting property of matrix loading materials further increases the interfacial thermal resistance (ITR). In this work, a one-step hydrothermal method is employed to grow 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets on a tellurium (Te) nanowire skeleton and silver (Ag) nanoparticles are further decorated on MoS2 nanosheets via the photoreduction method. The in-plane thermal conductivity of the final nanocomposite reaches as high as 10.4 W m(-1) K-1, which is 4,160% higher than that of a pure epoxy resin and one order of magnitude higher than that of conventional polymeric nanocomposites. The 3D interconnected heat transferring network of Te/MoS2/Ag greatly enhances the thermal stability of the composite in practical applications. The rational materials design concept may contribute to the development of new types of high-performance thermal management materials.