Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol – A functionalized graphene/copper foam composite with enhanced thermal conductivity and effective electromagnetic interference shielding

Abstract

Due to development of electronic devices, thermal management and electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems in electronic devices are becoming crucial issues. In the present work, a novel method is proposed for the synthesis of thermally- and electrically-conductive graphene-copper/polymer composites. The graphene surface is grafted with the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA), and the graphene-copper double 3D network structure is fabricated via a freeze drying method. The double structure is then pressed and wetted with epoxy to create a polymer-based composite. The as-prepared interconnected conductive network structure forms a continuous thermally and electrically conductive pathway, while the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties are further enhanced by the decreased interfacial resistance between the filler and matrix. In detail, the composite is shown to exhibit a high EMI shielding efficiency of 38.16 dB and a thermal conductivity of 1.20 W/mK. In addition, the composite exhibits a tensile modulus of 48.86 MPa, and an elongation at breaking point of 10.72%. The present authors believe that this approach holds great promise for the development of EMI shielding and thermally conductive materials. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.