Enhancing Thermal Conductive Properties With Liquid Metal‐Assisted Epoxy Resin Composites

ABSTRACT Epoxy resin‐based thermally conductive composites play an essential role in enhancing the performance of electronic devices, improving heat dissipation efficiency and meeting lightweight requirements. However, the problem of low intrinsic thermal conductivity of epoxy resin limits its application in thermal management. Here, a novel SCLE composite material was obtained using silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), carbon fiber (CF), and liquid metal (LM) to construct thermally conductive networks in an epoxy resin. The optimal thermal conductivity of SCLE composites was up to 0.88 W·m −1 ·K −1 by adjusting the ratio of various thermally conductive fillers, which was increased by 388.9% compared with EP. Meanwhile, SCLE composites have excellent mechanical properties, tensile strength increased by 35.09%, elongation at break improved by 735.6%, and tensile modulus decreased by 705.97%. Furthermore, the simulation results of thermal conductivity of flexible composites by different thermal conductivity pathways also demonstrate that the internal heat transfer efficiency of flexible composites can be significantly improved by adding suitable fillers. In this study, thermally conductive networks were constructed with LM as an auxiliary thermally conductive filler, which made the composites have excellent thermal conductive and mechanical properties at the same time. This work presents a new idea for the development of polymer‐based thermally conductive composite thermal interface materials.