Constructing zebra skin structured graphene/copper composites with ultrahigh thermal conductivity

Heat sink materials with superior thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical strength with low cost, are desirable for electronic packaging and thermal management in electronic and electrical engineering systems. In this work, the graphene paper (GP)/copper (Cu) composites were prepared by using a vacuum hot pressing. A zebra skin structure was constructed for improving the thermal transportation performance of GP/Cu composites. In virtue to its unique zebra skin structure, the ultrahigh thermal conductivity of 968 W m-1 K-1 was achieved for the GP/Cu composite at 70 vol% graphene loading. Furthermore, the GP/Cu composite retains high flexural strength (88 MPa) due to the good interface compatibility between the surface chemical treated GP and Cu paper. Our work provides a new method to significantly improve the in-plane thermal conductivity of thermal management materials.

Automated summary

In this study, graphene paper/copper composites were prepared using vacuum hot pressing, with a zebra skin structure constructed to improve thermal transportation performance. The composites achieved an ultrahigh thermal conductivity of 968 W m-1 K-1 at 70% graphene loading, while maintaining high flexural strength of 88 MPa. This new method significantly improves the in-plane thermal conductivity of thermal management materials.