Covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes and their use in dielectric epoxy composites to improve heat dissipation

A method to enhance the thermal dissipation of epoxies is described. The method exploits the transport of heat by phonons so that the composite material designed remains dielectric. The improvement in thermal transport is guaranteed by the addition of functionalized carbon nanotube fillers which are covalently bonded to the epoxy matrix. We demonstrate that even if the covalent grafting of functional molecules affects the thermal transport within the nanotubes because of the disruption in periodicity of the structure, it improves the interfacial thermal conductance between the matrix and fillers. The trade-off has a net positive impact on the effective thermal conductivity of the composite material. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.