Preparation of high thermal conductivity diamond/SiC composites with 3D connected diamond at low volume fraction

Diamond/SiC composite with 3D connected diamond as the reinforcements are prepared for the first time using the foam SiC as a template. The fabricated composite consisted of diamond, SiC and residual Si; nearly fully dense composite obtained by liquid Si infiltration as densification process. The results show that construction of efficient diamond heat transport channels in composite can greatly improve its thermal conductivity. Finally, the thermal conductivity of 3D connected diamond particles reinforced diamond/SiC composite reached up to 298 W/mk, at diamond volume fraction of only 26 vol%, which is almost the same as that of composite with 38 vol% diamond in the literature. Construction of heat transfer channels greatly reduces the diamond content in the diamond/SiC composite, effectively decreasing its preparation cost and providing a new development direction for diamond/SiC composite.