Vertically Aligned\nCarbon Fiber/Aluminum Particle/Silicone\nRubber Composites with High Thermal Conduction and Desired Mechanical\nPerformance

To utilize the highly thermally conductive axial direction\nof 1-dimensional\ncarbon fibers (CFs), numerous endeavors have been devoted to the orientation\nengineering of CF-filled thermally conductive composites. However,\n the construction of thermal transfer pathways between the aligned\nCFs is often neglected, which inevitable leads to great thermal resistances\nthat affect the thermal conductivity (TC) of prepared composites.\nHere, we proposed a facile and scalable strategy to drastically increase\nthe through-plane TC of vertically aligned CF/silicone rubber (V-CF/SR)\ncomposites by embedding aluminum (Al) particles into the channels\nbetween the aligned CFs during the infiltration process. The V-CF/SR\ncomposites embedded with Al particles (V-CF/Al/SR) were fabricated\nvia electrostatic flocking of CFs followed by the infiltration of\nthe Al/SR slurry and curing. Thanks to the vertically aligned CFs\nbridged by Al particles to form synergistic thermal transfer pathways,\nthe prepared V-CF/Al/SR composites achieved a high through-plane TC\nof 12.32 W/m K at a low CF content of 19.42 wt % and Al loading of\n52.36 wt %, which is 102.5 times higher than that of pure SR. Besides,\nthe V-CF/Al/SR composites maintained desired flexibility, elasticity,\nand mechanical hardness. Considering that an excellent thermal transfer\nability and good mechanical properties have been obtained, the V-CF/Al/SR\ncomposites show huge potential in advanced thermal management.