Use of BN-coated copper nanowires in nanocomposites with enhanced thermal conductivity and electrical insulation

Copper nanowires (CuNWs), as one-dimensional nanostructures, could be highly helpful as thermal management tools because of inherent thermal conductivity, high aspect ratio, and low cost. In this study, boron nitride-coated copper nanowires (CuNWs@BN) were successfully synthesized by an amenable and rapid technique and incorporated into synthetic polyimide (PI) to increase thermal conductivity while providing electrical insulation to nanocomposites. Maximal thermal conductivity in CuNWs@BN/PI composites containing fillers loading up to 20% volume rose to 4.12 W/mK, indicating an amelioration of 23 times in comparison with that of pure PI, while volume resistivity remained greater than 4.8 × 10¹³ Ω cm. Such nanocomposites with high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation could constitute important tools for thermal management. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]