Accurate determination of anisotropic thermal conductivity for ultrathin composite film

Highly anisotropic thermal conductive materials are of significance in thermal management applications. However, accurate determination of ultrathin composite thermal properties is a daunting task due to the tiny thermal conductance, severely hindering the further exploration of novel efficient thermal management materials, especially for size-confined environments. In this work, by utilizing a hybrid measuring method, we demonstrate an accurate determination of thermal properties for montmorillonite/reduced graphene oxide (MMT/rGO) composite film with a thickness range from 0.2 μm to 2 μm. The in-plane thermal conductivity measurement is realized by one-dimensional (1D) steady-state heat conduction approach while the cross-plane one is achieved via a modified 3 ω method. As-measured thermal conductivity results are cross-checked with different methods and known materials, revealing the high measurement accuracy. A high anisotropic ratio of 60.5, independent of composite thickness, is observed in our measurements, further ensuring the negligible measurement error. Notably, our work develops an effective approach to the determination of ultrathin composite thermal conductivity, which may promote the development of ultrathin composites for potential thermal-related applications.