Effects of Graphene Nanoplatelets and Cellular Structure on the Thermal Conductivity of Polysulfone Nanocomposite Foams

Polysulfone (PSU) foams containing 0–10 wt% graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) were prepared using two foaming methods. Alongside the analysis of the cellular structure, their thermal conductivity was measured and analyzed. The results showed that the presence of GnP can affect the cellular structure of the foams prepared by both water vapor induced phase separation (WVIPS) and supercritical CO(2) (scCO(2)) dissolution; however, the impact is greater in the case of foams prepared by WVIPS. In terms of thermal conductivity, the analysis showed an increasing trend by incrementing the amount of GnP and increasing relative density, with the tortuosity of the cellular structure, dependent on the used foaming method, relative density, and amount of GnP, playing a key role in the final value of thermal conductivity. The combination of all these factors showed the possibility of preparing PSU-GnP foams with enhanced thermal conductivity at lower GnP amount by carefully controlling the cellular structure and relative density, opening up their use in lightweight heat dissipators.