Highly thermally conductive and EMI shielding composite fabricated via free-radical polymerization of poly acrylic acid assisted by expanded graphite with liquid metal-grafted MXene

Abstract

Polymer composites offer numerous benefits, including low cost, easy processability, and diverse applications. In this work, we fabricated a composite material with high thermal conductivity and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance using EGaIn, a liquid metal (referred to as LM in this paper), MXene (MX), and expanded graphite (EG) as multifunctional fillers, along with polyacrylic acid (PAA). LM was used to exfoliate MX under the effect of shear force, which not only reduced the size of MX but also increased the aspect ratio of the 2D-structured MX. MX was filled into the pores of EG to make a heat transfer path, thereby enhancing its thermal conductivity, mechanical properties, and EMI SE properties. LM served as the initiator of free-radical polymerization to convert acrylic acid (AA) into PAA. Finally, the LMMX/EG/PAA composite was hot-pressed to make the heat-transfer path dense. As a result, the LMMX/EG/PAA composite exhibited a thermal conductivity of 1.88 W/m center dot K and an EMI shielding effect of 52 dB.