Thermally conductive polybutylene succinate composite filled with Si-O-N-C functionalized silicon carbide fabricated via low-speed melt extrusion

Abstract

In this study, we used a low-speed melt extrusion technique to fabricate a thermally conductive Polybutylene Succinate (PBS) composite, filled with various loading fractions of raw and surface-treated Silicon Carbide (SiC). The successful functionalization of silicon oxynitrocarbide (SiC-SiONC) on the surface of the SiC particles was confirmed via Fourier transmission infrared and X-ray electron spectroscopy. Furthermore, field-emission scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the surface treatment yielded improved interfacial adhesion between the SiC fillers and the PBS matrix which in turn contributed to the enhancement of the thermal conductivity. For the composite with 40 wt% surface-treated SiC particles, we achieved a maximum thermal conductivity of 1.05 W m−1 K−1, which is 400% higher than that of the neat PBS. The thermal conductivity measured in this study was higher than the thermal conductivity estimated from different models. Moreover, the PBS composite exhibited excellent heat dissipation performance during thermal testing. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd