Boron nitride nanosheet reinforced polyethylene nanocomposite film for high-performance hot-melt adhesive type thermal interfacial material

In this study, we report an effective synthesis approach for fabricating low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-based multi-functional composite through hybridization with short PE chain branched boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS) to be applied as a high-performance hot-melt adhesive (HMA) type thermal interface material (TIM). To enhance the thermal and mechanical properties of BNNS/LDPE, the BNNS surface was modified with short PE chain (PE–g–BNNS) via nitrene coupling reaction to improve the interfacial bonding force between the BNNS with LDPE. As a result, PE–g–BNNS/LDPE exhibited 22% increase in through-plane and 66% increase in in-plane thermal conductivity compared to the BNNS/LDPE. Its heat radiation performance was also increased by about 11% compared to the bare LDPE. In addition, the PE–g–BNNNS/LDPE shows 66% increase in tensile strength and 350% enhancement in modulus compared to the bare LDPE, suggesting that the PE–g–BNNNS/LDPE could be used as a TIM to meet the requirements for application in high-tech electronic devices.