I-Corps: High thermal conductivity polymers and phase change materials based on graphene

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发高导热聚合物和相变材料。与金属相比，建议的高导热聚合物可在广泛的热管理技术中取代金属，从而带来易于加工、耐腐蚀、重量更轻、碳足迹更少等优点，因为聚合物加工所需的能量更少。这些聚合物可能会改善笔记本电脑和手机等移动电子产品、高亮度发光二极管(LED)、汽车和航空航天应用以及海上热交换器的热管理，这些聚合物由于耐腐蚀性将能够取代钛等昂贵的金属。同样，高导热系数相变材料可以吸收充电过程中产生的热能，缓解这些期间的温度升高，从而提高电池的寿命，从而实现电池的卓越热管理。具有改进的热管理的电池对于下一代电动汽车的成功设计和开发至关重要。高导热系数相变材料作为下一代储能材料也具有巨大的潜力，是高效利用可再生能源的关键。这个i-Corps项目是基于通过使用最佳制备的膨胀石墨来开发高导热聚合物和相变材料。用于制备膨胀石墨的插层剂已被证明对所得聚合物-石墨复合材料的导热系数有显著影响。此外，不同的插层剂会导致不同程度的石墨氧化，从而影响对石墨的氧化损伤，从而导致不同的石墨导热系数。不同插层剂的作用导致聚合物复合材料和相变材料的导热系数不同。总体而言，最佳插层剂的使用最大限度地提高了导热系数。此外，这还可以减少实现所需的导热系数增强所需的石墨量，从而降低复合材料的成本。这些复合材料还被发现影响相变材料的导热系数，其中最佳插层剂可能导致导热系数提高50%至60%。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of high thermal conductivity polymers and phase change materials. The proposed high thermal conductivity polymers may replace metals in wide range of thermal management technologies leading to advantages including ease of processing, corrosion resistance, lower weight, and lower carbon footprint as polymers require less energy to process compared to metals. These polymers may improve thermal management in mobile electronics such as laptops and mobile phones, in high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs), in automobiles and aerospace applications, and in offshore heat exchangers where such polymers, due to their corrosion resistance, would be able to replace expensive metals like titanium. Similarly high thermal conductivity phase change materials may enable superior thermal management in batteries, by absorbing thermal energy generated during charging process, mitigating the increase in temperature during these periods, thus improving the life of the battery. Batteries with improved thermal management are essential to the successful design and development of next-generation electric vehicles. High thermal conductivity phase change materials also have tremendous potential as next generation energy storage materials, key to the efficient utilization of renewable sources of energy. This I-Corps project is based on the development of high thermal conductivity polymers and phase change materials through use of optimally prepared expanded graphite. Intercalating agents used in preparing expanded graphite have been shown to have a significant impact on thermal conductivity of resulting polymer-graphite composites. Further, different intercalating agents lead to different degrees of oxidation of graphite, thus impacting the oxidative damage to graphite, which in turn results in different graphite thermal conductivities. The effect of different intercalating agents results in different thermal conductivities of the polymer composites and phase change materials. Overall, the use of an optimum intercalating agent leads to a maximum enhancement in thermal conductivity. In addition, this leads to a decrease in the amount of graphite needed for achieving a desired enhancement in thermal conductivity, which may lower the cost of the composite. These composites also are found to impact thermal conductivity of phase change materials where the optimum intercalating agent may result in 50 to 60% higher thermal conductivity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.