3D Printable Flexible Composite for Thermal Management of Antennas in Wireless Communication Devices

ABSTRACT The development of wireless communication technology has resulted in fast and massive data transport. An increase in data traffic entails significant power consumption, which results in problematic heat generation. Thus, the thermal management of wireless communication is crucial. Besides, emerging wearable and soft electronics demand thermally manageable materials with various requirements, such as flexibility, heat dissipation, good dielectric properties, and customized manufacturing. Herein, we introduce a strategy for 3D printable thermal management composite for antennas in wireless communication devices. By employing methacrylate functionalized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), we obtained photo‐curable PDMS as a 3D printable composite matrix. Paraffin wax‐SiO 2 (core–shell) particles and 2D Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene are used as fillers, which are excellent heat conductors. Notably, the binary fillers in the composite provided effective thermal transport, resulting in low thermal resistance (0.56 Kcm 2 /W). Additionally, the composite achieved desirable dielectric properties (dielectric constant: 3.45, loss tangent: 0.0014). With the benefits in 3D printability, heat dissipation performance, and attractive dielectric properties, we fabricated a 3D printed antenna with heat dissipation performance and demonstrated its wireless communication performance.