Graphene oxide-bridged carbon fiber skeleton delivers 41-fold thermal conductivity boost for electronics cooling

Researchers from the Institute of Metal Research (Chinese Academy of Sciences), the University of Science and Technology of China, and Xi’an Rare Metal Materials Institute Co., Ltd. have developed a new thermal interface material (TIM) that combines high thermal conductivity with the compressibility needed to fill microscopic air gaps between heat-generating components and heat sinks – a combination that has been difficult to achieve in a single material.

The team built a vertically oriented, porous skeleton from short pitch-based carbon fibers (CFs), which have an exceptional axial thermal conductivity of 900 W/m·K, and bridged the individual fibers together using a small amount of graphene oxide (GO). “Graphene oxide acts as an inorganic adhesive,” said Dr. Han Wang, co-corresponding author of the study. “It effectively bonds individual carbon fibers together through π–π interactions, creating continuous thermal transport pathways while significantly reducing interfacial thermal resistance. This is a key advantage over traditional polymer binders like cellulose, which hinder heat flow.”

Read More Graphene-Info – Graphene industry portal