Enhanced thermal conductivity of PEEK based composites fabricated by its fibers grafted graphene oxide

Poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK), a thermoplastic, is known for its outstanding comprehensive performance. However, the low thermal conductivity (TC) remains a great challenge, which significantly restricts the applications of PEEK in related fields. Herein, we report a oriented Graphene oxide/PEEK fibers (GO/PEEK) composite as inspired by the structure of tree trunk (PEEK fibers) and tree bark (GO), in which GO is grafted on the surface of aminated PEEK fibers, then combined with simple vacuum hot pressing. It demonstrates that the TC of GO/PEEK is about 380% higher than that of pure PEEK at the filler loading of 20 wt%, showing good heat dissipation properties. This method offers a strategy for preparing PEEK-based thermal conductive composites with oriented structures.