Significantly Enhancing Thermal Conductivity of Flexible Composite Films through Horizontally Aligned and Interconnected SiC Nanowires

SiC nanowires (SiCNWs) are promising fillers due to their high thermal conductivity, chemical stability, and mechanical strength. Currently, the reported methods are generally complicated in operation and low in yield, which makes it difficult to realize industrialized produce. In this study, large quantities of SiCNWs with high aspect ratio and crystallinity were successfully synthesized using a fast and reliable combustion synthesis (CS) method. On this basis, the superflexible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/SiCNWs composite films with horizontally aligned SiCNWs structure were prepared via the electrospinning. At a fraction of 10 wt %, the thermal conductivity of the composite films was remarkably improved, up to 19.18 W/(m K). PVA/SiCNWs composites with good thermal stability and excellent tensile strength can effectively diffuse the heat generated during the operation of LED devices, which has promising thermal management applications in foldable electronic devices.