Graphene-based thermal interface materials

Thermal management in electronic circuits is becoming an important integral part of design considerations. Increasing power densities and speed of advanced computer chips motivate the search for more efficient thermal interface materials. Here we report preliminary results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the epoxy composites, which use the liquid-phase exfoliated graphene and few-layer graphene as filler materials. Thermal properties of the obtained graphene-epoxy composites were measured using the “laser flash” technique. It was found that the thermal conductivity enhancement factor exceeded ~ 1000% at 5% of the volume loading fraction. This enhancement is larger than anything that has been achieved with other filler materials. Our physics-based modeling analysis suggests that graphene can outperform other carbon allotropes and derivatives as the thermal filler material.