Significant enhancement of thermal conductivity and EMI shielding performance in PEI composites via constructing 3D microscopic continuous filler network

Polymer-based composites with effective heat dissipation and ideal electromagnetic interference shielding performance have gradually become an essential research focus in modern electronic industry. Herein, a method is reported by constructing 3D microscope continuous filler network into polyetherimide (PEI) matrix via incorporating function graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) with PEI microspheres , and then fillers are distributed beyond the domain area of polymer and leaded to continuous filler framework. The fabricated composites exhibit effective thermal conductivity (4.77 W m −1 K −1 ), great EMI effectiveness (42.7 dB), ideal electrical conductivity and profound thermal property . Different scale of polymer microspheres will also change the micro-architecture from “filler-wrapped polymer” structure to “polymer-wrapped filler” structure, resulting in various thermal performance and electrical property. Finite element simulation is further employed to explore the relationship between microsphere scale and heat transfer behavior. In a word, great comprehensive performance endows PEI composites broaden prospect on the potential applications in the fields of electronic equipment.