Experimental study on temperature controlled and flexible deformable composites with dual functions of thermal management and electromagnetic shielding

The comprehensive property requirements of heat dissipation and electromagnetic shielding have become more prominent due to the development of miniaturization and high power of electronic equipment. Meanwhile, electronic devices are usually irregular parts with complex surface morphology, making it difficult to assemble traditional protective materials. In this paper, shape-stable paraffin wax /pristine graphene (PW@PG) composites are fabricated. The microstructure and properties were researched by experimental methods. The PW@PG composite simultaneously realize good thermal management performance (suitable thermal conductivity (4.454 W/(m·K)), excellent thermal stability, and high enthalpy (151.96 J/g)) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding functions (60 dB), which is rarely reported in literature. It also has excellent resistance to leakage, and its mass loss rates are only 0.29 % and 0.059 % after heating at 80℃ for 48 h and 120 thermal cycles, respectively. Furthermore, the PW@PG composite is encapsulated by liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). PDMS encapsulated PW@PG composite (E-PW@PG) has no leakage problem and is flexible deformation. Its shape can be controlled by temperature. Compared with similar dual function materials, this research achieves both thermal management and electromagnetic shielding performance, completely solves the leakage problem of phase change materials through packaging, and can achieve adhesion to different surfaces. The E-PW@PG composite is a promising candidate for dual thermal management and electromagnetic shielding of electronic devices with complex surfaces.