Polymer materials are usually thermal insulators. But by
harnessing an electropolymerization process to produce aligned arrays of
polymer nanofibers, researchers have developed a thermal interface material
able to conduct heat 20 times better than the original polymer. The modified
material can reliably operate at temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius.
The new thermal interface material could be used to draw
heat away from electronic devices in servers, automobiles, high-brightness LEDs
and certain mobile devices. The material is fabricated on heat sinks and heat
spreaders and adheres well to devices, potentially avoiding the reliability
challenges caused by differential expansion in other thermally-conducting
materials.