Silver doped boron nitride approach to improve the thermal conductivity of polyurethane composites

Abstract

High thermal conductivity composites have attracted considerable attention due to their extensive applications in electronic devices. In the present work, we propose a novel strategy by employing boron nitride doped silver nanoparticles (BN-Ag) to improve the thermal conductivity of polyurethane composites. The BN-Ag composite was prepared by depositing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto the surface of boron nitride (BN), facilitating cross-linking between adjacent BN sheets. Interestingly, despite the low concentration of AgNPs at just 2.5% (The proportion is determined by the quantity of BN, and the subsequent statement remains unchanged), their thermal conductivity of BN-Ag/PU is significant enhanced by approximately 184%, while maintaining excellent thermal stability and high resistivity. Meanwhile, to further augment the thermal conductivity, a more noticeable improvement up to 236% without compromising its superior insulation properties (5.03 × 10¹³ Ω · cm) was recorded by doping BN-Ag/PU with silver nanowires (BN-Ag@AgNP/PU).