Preparation of poly glycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) chain-grafted boron nitride/epoxy composites and their thermal conductivity properties

Surface modification of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has the problem of reducing the interfacial thermal resistance, which has hindered its application in thermal conductive composites. Herein, poly glycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) chains were grafted onto the h-BN surface by simple radical polymerization; the thermal conductivity of epoxy (EP) composites was improved by adding the as-grafted h-BN–PGMA to EP resin. When the filling volume of h-BN–PGMA was 4, 10 or 16 vol%, the thermal conductivity of EP composite increased by 160%, 298% or 599%, respectively. Moreover, the h-BN surface modification was beneficial to enhance the compatibility between the filler and the EP matrix. Compared to EP/h-BN, the EP/h-BN–PGMA had higher thermal conductivity (1.197 W m(−1) K(−1)) under the same filling amount (16 vol%). Moreover, excellent dielectric properties and thermal stability indicated that EP/h-BN–PGMA composites were excellent thermal interface materials (TIMs) and could be applied in the field of thermal management. The preparation process is environmentally friendly, easy to operate, and suitable for large-scale practical applications.