Thermophysical properties of composites formed from ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer and silver‐coated hollow glass microspheres

The primary purpose of this study was to prepare a new type of silver‐coated hollow glass microspheres and to make available this facility for the fabrication of thermally conductive polymeric composites based on ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer. Thermally conducting composites could be produced with a silver coating around the hollow glass microspheres, despite the low silver volume content. The experimental results are discussed and compared to various theoretical models. The thermal diffusivity and the specific heat of the composites were also characterized and are reported. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011