Constructing reduced graphene oxide/boron nitride frameworks in melamine foam towards phase change materials with application in thermal management of microelectronic devices

Phase change materials (PCMs) exhibit wide application prospects in many fields relating to energy utilization and management and attract increasing concerns. In this work, through the graphene oxide (GO)-assisted dispersion technology, GO/boron nitride (BN) nanosheets were incorporated into melamine foam and successfully deposited on the surface of the foam framework after hydrothermal reaction. Through the following freeze-drying and carbonization treatment, the composite MF/rGO/BN aerogels were obtained with integrated hybrid rGO/BN frameworks. The composite PCMs were prepared through encapsulating polyethylene glycol (PEG) within the hybrid aerogels. The encapsulation stability and thermal properties of the composite PCMs were systematically investigated. The composite PCM sample containing the highest content of rGO/BN exhibited excellent encapsulation stability, high thermal conductivity (up to 0.79 W/m·K), high phase change enthalpy (160.7 J/g) with the retention of 90.8% of the pure PEG, and excellent chemical and thermal stability. Further results clearly showed that the composite PCMs had excellent light-to-heat energy transition ability and it could be used as the thermal management component to suppress the overheating of the device during the operation process, or to supply the energy for the thermoelectric device in the emergency condition to ensure a continuous power supply sustained in a certain time until the safeguard procedures were adopted.