Highly Thermal Conductivities, Excellent Mechanical Robustness and Flexibility, and Outstanding Thermal Stabilities of Aramid Nanofiber Composite Papers with Nacre-Mimetic Layered Structures

Aramid nanofiber (ANF) paper has shown potential applications in flexible electronics. However, its inherent low thermal conductivity coefficient (λ) values might threaten the safety of devices under a high-power working condition. In this work, polydopamine-functionalized boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS@PDA)/ANF thermally conductive composite papers with nacre-mimetic layered structures were prepared via highly efficient vacuum-assisted filtration followed by hot pressing. For a given BNNS loading, the surface functionalization of BNNS could further enhance the thermal conductivities and mechanical properties of BNNS@PDA/ANF composite papers. BNNS@PDA/ANF composite papers presented anisotropic thermal conductivities, and the through-plane (λ⊥) and in-plane (λ∥) values of the 50 wt % BNNS@PDA/ANF composite papers reached 0.62 and 3.94 W/mK, 181.8 and 196.2% higher than those of original ANF paper, respectively, which were also higher than those of 50 wt % BNNS/ANF composite papers (λ⊥ = 0.52 W/mK and λ∥ = 3...