Engineered interface design in polymer composites: Simultaneous enhancement of thermal conductivity and tribological properties for industrial applications

Abstract

The escalating demand for high-performance electronics necessitates innovative dielectric materials capable of efficient heat dissipation and robust interfacial stability. Herein, we present an interfacial engineering approach to fabricate multifunctional polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN)-based composite films, addressing critical challenges in thermal management and wear resistance. Through designing co-deposition process, heterostructure fillers (Ag-SiCws, Ag-BNNS, and SiCws-BNNS) were synthesized and functionalized by polydopamine (PDA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI), ensuring optimal dispersion and interfacial adhesion within the PEN matrix. Results show that different heterostructure fillers are inconsistent for constructing heat transfer pathways, but all of them can achieve effective attenuation of interfacial phonon scattering. At the same time, the formation mechanism of heat conduction channels in the multi-component PEN-based films is deeply deduced with the help of finite element analysis and tribological behavior analysis. The excellent frictional performance is not only attributed to the rigid skeleton of filler, but also the synergistic effect of interfacial optimization, which effectively suppresses the accumulation of frictional heat during the sliding process. In addition, the effectiveness of interfacial optimization was further confirmed by a combination of mechanical and electrical property tests. Therefore, this study provides a way to solve the heat dissipation problem of electronic devices and to improve the stability and lifetime.