Graphene-Assisted Thermal Interface Materials with a Satisfied Interface Contact Level Between the Matrix and Fillers

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and three-dimensional graphene networks (3DGNs) are adopted to improve the performance of thermal interface materials (TIMs). Therein, the 3DGNs provide a fast transport network for phonons, while the RGO plays as a bridge to enhance the phonon transport ability at the interface between the filler and matrix. The types of surface functional groups of the RGO are found to exert a remarkable influence on the resulting thermal performance; the carboxyl groups are found in the optimal selection to promote the transport process at the interface area because a strong chemical bond will form between the graphene basal plane and epoxy resin (ER) through this kind of group. The resulting thermal conductivity reaches 6.7 Wm(−1) K(−1) after optimizing the mass fraction and morphology of the filler, which is 3250% higher than that of the pristine ER. Moreover, the mechanical properties of these as-prepared TIMs are also detected, and the specimens by using the RGO(OOH) filler display the better performances. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s11671-018-2704-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.