Effective surface treatments for enhancing the thermal conductivity of BN‐filled epoxy composite

To improve the thermal conductivity of BN‐filled epoxy composite, admicellar polymerization was used to coat polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate on the BN surface to improve the interfacial adhesion in the composite. The treated surface was characterized by FTIR and contact angle measurements. The results show that the admicellar treatment led to improved wettability of epoxy resin on the treated surface. Thermal conductivity of the composite increased from 1.5 W/mK for untreated BN to 2.69 W/mK when the admicellar‐treated BN was used, indicating improvement in the interfacial adhesion between BN and epoxy resin in the composite. The mechanical properties of the composite also improved significantly. The surfactant : monomer molar ratio of 1 : 10 was found to be the optimum condition for the admicellar polymerization process. The solubility parameter concept was used to explain the difference in the effectiveness of polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate. When compared to the more conventional silane treatment, admicellar treatment was found to be more effective in improving the interfacial adhesion between the BN particles and epoxy resin. SEM micrographs of the fractured surface of the composite further confirm the improvement in the interfacial adhesion after the admicellar treatment. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Durable compliant electrode based on graphene and natural rubber

A compliant electrode is a stretchable electronic device that retains good conductivity under stretching or bending. It has been used in various electro‐actuating applications which require large deformations under electrical field. The objective of this work was to fabricate a compliant electrode possessing high electrical conductivity and good mechanical properties. Due to the excellent mechanical properties of natural rubber (NR), it was used as a matrix for the compliant electrode. Graphene was used as a new and innovative conductive filler to provide excellent electrical conductivity. The mechanical properties and electrical properties were investigated by using a rheometer in the tension mode. Both mechanical and electrical properties were improved drastically by introducing graphene into the matrix. The highest electrical conductivity of 0.61 S/cm was obtained from the 35.0 %vol/vol graphene/NR composite, two orders of magnitude higher than that of the commercial compliant electrode. The 5.0 %vol/vol graphene/NR composite was shown and identified here as a promising material for using as a compliant electrode. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:129–136, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers