H-BN and graphene oxide/epoxy nanocomposite - A comparative study of mechanical, electrical and thermal properties

Abstract

Polymers are generally thermal insulators, thus restricting their applications for low thermal conductivity (TC). There is a craving demand for thermal interface materials that possess high TC so that they quickly dissipate the heat generated by electronics devices during their operations. In this regards Hexagonal Boron Nitride (h-BN) and graphene have been employed as nanofillers for enhancing TC in polymers. In the present work, a comparative study of h-BN and graphene as a nanofiller in epoxy is investigated for mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. In this study, h-BN was synthesized by using wet chemical method with the controlled number of boron nitride layers. Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by chemical oxidation and exfoliation of graphite. Synthesized h-BN and the graphene are incorporated as fillers into the epoxy systems. The TC and thermal diffusivity (TS) have increased to ∼ 27.4 % and c∼ 75.5 % for the epoxy composite of h-BN, where only ∼5.46 % increment in TC and ∼ 14.2 % TS for GO/Epoxy compared to neat epoxy. The addition of filler has no net effect on electrical conductivity and resistance. This property is an added advantage over graphene making h-BN fillers as excellent sources for high TC and low electrically conductive nanofiller materials.