Abstract
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based carbon nanofiber (CNF) sheets are fabricated as an innovative thermal interface material (TIM), which is a potential substitute for traditional TIMs. Five types of PVA-based CNF sheets were fabricated at different mass ratios of PVA:vapor-grown carbon fiber (VGCF) (1:0.100, 1:0.070, 1:0.050, 1:0.030, 1:0.025). The thickness of the PVA-based CNF sheets was 30–50 µm, which was controlled by the amount of VGCF. The microstructure of the CNF sheets indicated that VGCFs were arranged in random directions inside the sheet, and PVA was formed as a membrane between two VGCFs. However, many pores were found to exist between the VGCFs. The porosity of the PVA-based CNF sheets decreased from 25 to 13% upon decreasing the mass ratio of VGCF from 43.38 to 16.13%. The density and Shore hardness of all CNF sheets were 1.03–1.15 × 106 g m−3 and 82.4–85.0 HS, respectively. The highest thermal conductivity, measured as the mass ratio of PVA:VGCF, was achieved at 1:0.05, with the in-plane thermal conductivity of the fabricated sheet being 14.3 W m−1 k−1.
Highlights
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based carbon nanofiber (CNF) sheets are fabricated as an innovative thermal interface material (TIM), which is a potential substitute for traditional Thermal interface materials (TIMs)
The CNF sheets have a cellulose-like structure, through which the PVA infiltration between VGCFs is hindered during the mixing process, thereby leading to pore formation in the fabricated sheet
An innovative TIM based on a composite of PVA and VGCF was successfully fabricated by a simple and cost-effective process
Summary
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based carbon nanofiber (CNF) sheets are fabricated as an innovative thermal interface material (TIM), which is a potential substitute for traditional TIMs. Thermal interface materials (TIMs), which are used to fill the air gaps between electronic components and heat sinks, reduce the thermal contact resistance and are, considered important for improving the heat dissipation efficiency of electronic devices. To this end, many types of TIM materials have been explored, such as thermal pads, phase-change materials, graphite sheets, and metal s heets[2]. The development of new TIMs has been accelerated through the use of carbon materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) These materials have been widely applied as fillers in TIMs because of their high thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. A CNF sheet with high thermal conductivity was selected to perform constant temperature and humidity tests at 358 K and 85% RH, respectively, for 500 h
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