Bioinspired Multilayer Composites Based on Nano-Self-Assembled Thermomechanical Expressway for Efficient Thermal Management.

From electronic chips to human body protection, the demand for thermal management materials is increasingly diversified, and the development of efficient and multifunctional thermal management materials has become a hotspot. Taking a lesson from nature, modeled after the thermal management system of penguins, this paper introduces a modified thermomechanical expressway based on nanoassembly and modifying aerogel with it to make a bioinspired multilayer structure. The bottom is a silver-modified carbon nanotube/polyvinyl alcohol aerogel with a thermal conductivity of only 0.115 W m-1 K-1. The middle is a vacuum-impregnated polyethylene glycol composite (Tm = 69.93 °C, ΔHm = 171.4 J g-1). The top is a hydrophobic indium tin oxide film with low infrared emissivity (ɛ3-5 µm = 0.144, ɛ8-14 µm = 0.112). The composite has strong compressive resistance, thermal stability, and penguin-feather-like hydrophobicity, and can maintain room temperature for a long period of time on heat generating devices at 60, 120, or 150 °C, and to quickly reach a stable temperature (48.2 °C) on a 200 °C heated platform, and to quickly cool down after removing the heat source, demonstrating excellent thermal management capabilities. It is envisioned that this material will have broad application prospects in fields such as aerospace, thermal management of electronic devices, and building energy efficiency.