Thermally conductive silver adhesive enhanced by MXene@AgNPs with excellent thermal conductivity for thermal management applications

Abstract

The Thermal Conductive Silver Adhesive (TCSA) efficiently transfers heat from electronic components to heat dissipation components, preventing overheating and extending device lifespan. Despite the effectiveness of commercial sintered nano TCSA, high production costs necessitate a more affordable, high-performance preparation method. This study presents a strategy for preparing ultra-high thermal conductivity (TC) TCSA using multidimensional thermal conductive fillers and low-temperature sintering of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). MXene@AgNPs particles are synthesized via in-situ reduction of AgNPs on MXene surfaces. These particles, combined with silver microflakes (AgMFs) as primary fillers and epoxy (EP), undergo low-temperature heat treatment to form the AgMFs-MXene@AgNPs/EP composite. Characterization and computational models show that filler-filler interface thermal resistance (ITRf-f) is critical for TC. Adding MXene alone is insufficient, but using MXene@AgNPs particles as secondary fillers allows AgNPs to interconnect fillers, effectively reducing the ITRf-f. The resulting composite achieves an ultra-high TC of 65.51 Wm−1K−1 with 63 wt% total filler content (60 wt% AgMFs, 3 wt% MXene@AgNPs). This study advances the development of low-cost, high-performance TCSA for thermal management applications.