【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】The Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a new graphene-reinforced thermal conductive adhesive to overcome the challenges associated with the use of silicon-based materials

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The 25th National \"Safety Production Month\" in 2026: Everyone talks about safety, and everyone knows how to handle emergencies; identifying and addressing risks and hazards. -------------------------------------------------- Recently, a team from the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a new technology for graphene-enhanced non-silicon-based thermal adhesives. By creating a synergistic thermal conduction network using graphene and aluminum nitride, this technology effectively overcomes the shortcomings of traditional materials, thereby significantly improving the overall thermal conductivity of non-silicon-based thermal adhesives. Currently, with the rapid iteration of high-power chips and precision electronic devices, the challenges related to device thermal management have become increasingly prominent. As a core thermal interface material, thermal conductive adhesive directly determines the heat dissipation performance and operational stability of electronic devices. The mainstream silicon-based thermal paste solutions available on the market are well-established in terms of technology, but over time they can suffer from issues such as the release of silicone oil and interface contamination. On the other hand, traditional non-silicon-based thermal pastes have shortcomings including low thermal conductivity and high interfacial thermal resistance; therefore, the development of high-performance non-silicon-based thermal materials is an urgent necessity. To address the pain points in this industry, the research team took advantage of graphene’s excellent in-plane thermal conductivity and interfacial adsorption properties, and employed a solution blending technique to evenly coat spherical aluminum nitride particles on the surface of graphene, thereby creating a multi-scale coordinated thermal conduction network. This structure improves the contact at the filler interface, creates efficient heat transfer pathways, reduces phonon scattering and lowers the interfacial thermal resistance, thereby enhancing the material’s thermal conductivity from a structural perspective. At the same time, the team optimized the vacuum drying and curing processes, significantly reducing bubbles within the material and further improving its thermal conductivity and structural density. Experimental data show that this new type of thermal adhesive has a thermal conductivity of 14.03 W/(m·K), which is far higher than that of most commercial thermal adhesives; its bonding strength is 13.39 MPa, offering both high thermal conductivity and mechanical stability. In addition, the material boasts excellent electrical insulation, no silicone oil leakage, and high thixotropy, making it suitable for complex electronic packaging applications and ensuring the long-term stable operation of high-power devices. This new type of thermal adhesive can be widely used in fields such as electronic chips, power devices, avionics, and high heat flux density cooling systems, providing technical support for the miniaturization, high integration, and reliable operation of electronic devices. At the same time, this study also opens up new avenues for the application of two-dimensional materials in the field of high-performance thermal interface materials. It is reported that this research was supported by a **Natural Science Foundation Basic Science Center project, and the relevant results were achieved by the team led by Huang Xiaohu, a master’s student at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Yang Ming, an associate researcher, and Zhang Hang, a researcher.