Enhanced thermal conductivity in copolymerized polyimide

From flexible electronics and multifunctional textiles to artificial tissues, polymers penetrate nearly every aspect of modern technology. High thermal conductivity of polymers is often required in their applications, where heat dissipation is crucial to maintain product reliability and functionality. However, the intrinsic thermal conductivity of bulk polymers is largely hindered by the randomly coiled and entangled chain conformation. Here, we report a copolymerization strategy that can simultaneously manipulate the intrachain and interchain hopping and increase the thermal conductivity of linear copolymerized polyimide (PI) to three times higher than that of pure PI at a low-level introduction of 2,4,5,7-tetraamino-1,8-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione (10%). In addition, the large-scale copolymerized PI films display thermal stability after annealing. These remarkable results allow bulk PI to be a potential candidate for thermal management, and this copolymerization method may benefit future synthesis of interfacial thermal materials.

Automated summary

Polymers are widely used in modern technology, but their thermal conductivity is often limited. In this study, a copolymerization strategy is introduced to significantly increase the thermal conductivity of polyimide, making it a potential candidate for thermal management. The copolymerized polyimide also shows thermal stability after annealing, indicating its potential in future synthesis of interfacial thermal materials.