Graphene-Based Phase Change Thermal Interface Nanocomposite and Heat Sink for Thermal Management

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high thermal conductivity enable efficient heat dissipation from electronic devices, such as integrated circuits (ICs) leading to their performance and lifetime enhancement. Phase change materials (PCMs) are widely used as TIMs due to the storage as well as the release of heat during their phase change transitions. One of the widely used PCMs is paraffin wax; however, due to the low heat conductivity, paraffin wax performs as a poor TIM. Here, one of the strategies to improve the thermal conductivity is presented, i.e., the addition of thermally conducting filler materials, in the present case, graphene. Graphene/paraffin wax/agar agar nanocomposite TIM has been synthesized and characterized. The nanocomposite shows twofold enhancement in thermal conductivity (0.44 W/m $\cdot $ K) compared with paraffin wax with only a 3.6 wt.% addition of graphene. Heat sink based on graphene simulation shows higher performance compared with aluminum. Experiments demonstrate the higher heat dissipation from the ICs using the nanocomposite TIM compared with the commercial thermal grease. The combination of graphene-based PCM nanocomposite TIM and graphene-based heat sink will help to improve the performance of ICs.