Roles of silica-coated layer on graphite for thermal conductivity, heat dissipation, thermal stability, and electrical resistivity of polymer composites

Abstract Amphiphile-assisted silica@graphite with a surface resistivity of 10 12  Ω·sq −1 was prepared via a one-step process using either an Ostwald ripening agent (Triton-X) or a bridgemer (PEG) under mild conditions. The composites containing coated fillers showed advantages in terms of their thermal and electrical properties over those using mixture of fillers. The filler possessing optimal size of graphite was incorporated with various polymer matrices such as TPEE, PDMS, epoxy, or HDPE, all of which have different processing characteristics due to their inherent viscosities. Consequently, the silica@graphite incorporated composites were found to have a superior effect on thermal and electrical properties including conductivity, dissipation, stability, and resistivity than boron nitride or alumina filled composites with the conservation of the electrical insulating property above 10 10  Ω·sq −1 for a filler loading of 0–30 vol%.