Mechanical properties of composite materials with low-covered polyrotaxane and plasma-surface-modified hexagonal boron nitride

Abstract

An effective method for fabricating flexible materials containing thermally conductive fillers, such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), utilizes plasma surface modification and polyrotaxane (PR) with movable cross-linking points. This study demonstrated that lowering the coverage rates of PR composites increased the mobility of the cross-linking points. Plasma surface modification improved the dispersion of hBN and enabled homogeneous deformation of the PR composites owing to movable cross-linking points. Studying the deformation with a model including a finite extension effect indicated that the sliding range in the low-covered PR composites was extended compared to that in the high-covered PR composites, resulting in a smaller Young’s modulus, longer extension, and higher toughness.