Fabrication of high thermal and electrical conductivity composites via electroplating Cu network on 3D PEEK/CF felt skeletons

Miniaturized electronic devices with high power-density are a key contributor to the booming electronics field, which requires effective heat removal through polymer-based composites. However, their low thermal conductivity remains a great challenge. Herein, we have developed a new Cu-plated PEEK/carbon fiber felt (PEEK/CF-Cu) based e-composite material with excellent heat dissipation properties through electroplating Cu network on 3D PEEK/CF felt skeletons, combined with simple a vacuum hot-pressing method. This demonstrates that the 3D PEEK/CF-Cu composites exhibit high in-plane thermal conductivity of 5.48 W/(m·K) and superior through-plane thermal conductivity (2.54 W/(m·K)), along with excellent electrical conductivity (3.2 × 104 S/cm) with a Cu loading of 27.1 vol% and high storage modulus. Additionally, the strong heating and cooling capacity of the 3D PEEK/CF-Cu composites was confirmed through infrared thermal imaging. Our work provides a unique method for fabricating 3D high thermal conductive PEEK-based composites, which is different from traditional methods, indicating future potential for broad application in thermal management and antistatic materials.