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Thermally Conductive, Healable Glass Fiber Cloth Reinforced Polymer Composite based on β-Hydroxyester Bonds Crosslinked Epoxy with Improved Heat Resistance

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Abstract

To simultaneously endow thermal conductivity, high glass transition temperature (Tg) and healing capability to glass fiber/epoxy (GFREP) composite, dynamic crosslinked epoxy resin bearing reversible β-hydroxyl ester bonds was reinforced with boron nitride nanosheets modified glass fiber cloth (GFC@BNNSs). The in-plane heat conduction paths were constructed by electrostatic self-assembly of polyacrylic acid treated GFC and polyethyleneimine decorated BNNSs. Then, the GFC@BNNSs were impregnated with the mixture of lower concentration (3-glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane grafted BN micron sheets, 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3,4-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate and hexahydro-4-methylphthalic anhydride, which accounted for establishing the through-plane heat transport pathways and avoiding serious deterioration of mechanical performances. The resultant GFREP composite containing less boron nitride particles (17.6 wt%) exhibited superior in-plane (3.29 W·m−1·K−1) and through-plane (1.16 W·m−1·K−1) thermal conductivities, as well as high Tg of 204 °C (Tg of the unfilled epoxy=177 °C). The reversible transesterification reaction enabled closure of interlaminar cracks within the composite, achieving decent healing efficiencies estimated by means of tensile strength (71.2%), electrical breakdown strength (83.6%) and thermal conductivity (69.1%). The present work overcame the disadvantages of conventional thermally conductive composites, and provided an efficient approach to prolong the life span of thermally conductive GFREP laminate for high-temperature resistant integrated circuit application.

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Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The authors’ contact information: zhangzp8@mail.sysu.edu.cn (Z.P.Z.), ceszmq@mail.sysu.edu.cn (M.Q.Z.).

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52033011, 51973237 and 52373095), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (Nos. 2019B1515120038 and 2021A1515010417), Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (No. 2020B010179001), Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangzhou City (No. 202201011568), GBRCE for Functional Molecular Engineering, and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Sun Yat-sen University (No. 23yxqntd002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, GD HPPC Lab, IGCME, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Fang Chen, Xiao-Yan Pang, Ze-Ping Zhang, Min-Zhi Rong & Ming-Qiu Zhang

  2. Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Chemistry and Fine Chemical Engineering Jieyang Center, Jieyang, 515200, China

    Ming-Qiu Zhang

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  1. Fang Chen
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Chen, F., Pang, XY., Zhang, ZP. et al. Thermally Conductive, Healable Glass Fiber Cloth Reinforced Polymer Composite based on β-Hydroxyester Bonds Crosslinked Epoxy with Improved Heat Resistance. Chin J Polym Sci 42, 643–654 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-024-3076-x

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