Synergy boost thermal conductivity through the design of vertically aligned 3D boron nitride and graphene hybrids in silicone rubber under low loading

Abstract A novel vertically aligned three-dimensional (3D) modified boron nitride/reduced graphene sheets (m-BN/rGO) hybrid framework was uniquely achieved involving a simple blending followed by freeze-drying and thermal reduction. Different ratios of m-BN/rGO frameworks (loading of 5 wt%) were incorporated to fabricate flexible silicone rubber composites (SR/3dBG) with enhanced thermal conductivity. SR/3dBG composite (m-BN/rGO = 5/1) showed the thermal conductivity of 0.88 W/m−1 K−1, 449% and 129% higher than pure SR and random SR/BG, respectively. The synergistic effect between m-BN and rGO, along with the effectively vertical aligned 3D thermal conductive networks were the major factors for the boosted performance.