Preparation and mechanism of Cu-GO laminated composite films with high thermal conductivity by intermediate nickel and silver layers via electrodeposition and ultrasonic spraying method

The graphene oxide-Cu (GO-Cu) laminated composite films with nickel and silver intermediate layers were prepared by electrodeposition , ultrasonic spraying and subsequent annealing heat treatment. The influences of current density of Cu plating, the silver ion concentration and electrodeposition time of nickel plating on the morphology, microstructure and thermal conductivity of the composites were systematically studied. The introduction of Cu-O-C covalent bonds and the diffused nickel and silver transition layers at the interface could effectively enhance the interfacial bonding between GO and Cu, accordingly improving its thermal conductivity . Under the optimal process parameters (current density 8 A/dm 2 , silver ion concentration 4.25 g/L(0.025 M), electrodeposited nickel 25 s), the in-plane thermal conductivity of GO-Cu-GO and GO-Ag-Cu-Ag-GO and GO-Ni-Cu-Ni-GO laminated composite films could reach 572.21 W·m −1 ·K −1 , 652.64 W·m −1 ·K −1 and 790.36 W·m −1 ·K −1 , respectively. The significant enhancement of thermal performance for the Cu-GO laminated composite films could be attributed to the effective improvement of the interfacial bonding between Cu and GO in the composites by existence of intermediate metal layer. • Cu-GO laminated composites were prepared by electro-deposition and ultrasonic spraying. • Intermediate Ni and Ag layer were added at the interface between Cu and GO. • Under the optimized condition, the thermal conductivity reached up to 790.36 W·m −1 ·K −1 .