Improvement of dielectric properties and thermal conductivity of TPU with alumina-encapsulated rGO
Eyob Wondu, Zelalem Chernet Lule, Jooheon Kim
Abstract
This study focuses on the fabrication of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites with high thermal conductivity and dielectric constants, which can be used in electronic devices that are able to store charge and dissipate heat. To fabricate the samples, GO was reduced via sonication, and alumina-encapsulated GO particles were prepared with sonication and high-temperature magnetic stirring for 24 h. The TPU composites were fabricated through the melt extrusion process after removing the moistures via oven drying. The storage of charge is enabled by the high dielectric constant obtained from the APTES-treated alumina-encapsulated GO-TPU composites; the heat dissipation characteristics are found from the high thermal conductivity and thermal image camera of the sample. Surprisingly, the tensile and ductile properties of the composite are promising. The thermal conductivity of the APTES treated alumina encapsulated TPU composite is 3.2 times higher than that of the neat TPU. The dielectric property of the GO containing alumina composites is promisingly higher as compared to all other composites investigated.