Ternary Metals in Phase Change Polymers for Efficient Thermal Management of Electronics

Abstract Phase change materials (PCMs) are paramount for the thermal management of electronics. However, the present PCMs encounter a dilemma in balancing the thermal conductivity and effective latent heat, compromising the heat dissipation function of PCMs for electronics. This work successfully integrates ternary metals and polymer science to design novel PCMs composed of a ternary metal (TM, Ga 0.20 In 0.46 Sn 0.34 ) with precise composition and polyethylene glycol (PEG) by physical blending. Due to the introduction of PEG with high melting enthalpy, the ternary metal in PEG (TM@PEG) simultaneously has high thermal conductivity (7.086 W m −1 K −1 ), desirable effective latent heat (143.6 J cm −3 ), suitable phase change range, and durability. During thermal management, the thermal conductivity and effective latent heat of TM@PEG contribute to suppressing the working temperature and delaying the temperature rise rate of electronics, respectively. Hence, the TM@PEG effectively behaves as the thermally conductive grease for LEDs and CPU to control the working temperature of electronics in a reasonable range. This work offers a new perspective for TM applied in thermal management.