Facile bottom-up synthesis of reduced graphene oxide/aramid nanofiber composite films with high thermal conductivity

Thermal management materials with high thermal conductivities, heat resistances, and excellent mechanical properties are urgently required for application in modern electronic power systems. The mechanical properties and high-temperature resistance of thermally conductive materials can be improved by using aramid nanofibers as thermally conductive substrates. In this study, para-aramid nanofibers (ANFs) were synthesized using a greener, time-efficient, and high-yield bottom-up method. Water-dispersible reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was combined with the ANFs to prepare a highly thermally conductive composite membrane with nacre-like structures by vacuum filtration. The rGO-50/ANF showed a remarkably high thermal conductivity (18.28 W m−1 K−1) and excellent tensile strength (60.2 MPa) with a strong penchant for high-temperature applications (>200 °C). In particular, the composite film can significantly reduce the surface temperature of light-emitting diode lamps in practical thermal management applications, indicating its excellent thermal management performance.