Fluorine-modified double-nanostructured GO coatings to perpetuate high thermal conduction

Thermal interface materials are one of the important ways to solve the heat dissipation of electronic devices. However, the retention of high thermal conductivity in dusty and humid environments remains a significant challenge. In this study, we design a fluorine-modified double-nanostructured GO (named F-GO@SiO₂) coating that shows excellent self-cleaning, anti-fog, electrical insulation, and thermal conduction. This guarantees that the FR-4 epoxy fiber board coated with F-GO@SiO₂ can maintain durable high thermal conduction up to ~ 0.74 W‧m⁻¹‧K⁻¹ after 5 cycles of the fouling test. In contrast, they severely decline to ~ 0.15 and ~ 0.14 W‧m⁻¹‧K⁻¹ when coated pure GO and fluorine-modified nanoflake-like GO (F-GO). Moreover, the thermally conductive coefficient of the F-GO@SiO₂ coating on copper pipe can also maintain up to ~ 277.3 W‧m⁻²‧K⁻¹ under a 50% humidity environment after 60 min, that is much higher than ~ 193.8 W‧m⁻²‧K⁻¹ of the pure GO or F-GO coating. This work provides a novel strategy for designing superhydrophobic thermal interface materials capable of durable heat dissipation.