High Thermal Conductive Epoxy Resin Composites with Controlled Higher Order Structures

Higher order structures of epoxy resins improved their thermal conductivities. Thermal conductivities were up to 5 times higher than those of conventional epoxy resins, because the molecular groups, mesogens, form highly ordered crystal-like structures which suppress phonon scattering. The crystal-like structures were observed on a microscopic scale using transmission electron microscope (TEM). Mesoscopic structures in the resins were also observed using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The results suggest that control of higher order structure of insulating resins can be used as a novel method to improve their thermal conductivities. Laminates were prepared with the high thermal conductive epoxy resin containing a biphenyl group and ceramic fillers as a part of a feasibility study. Thermal conductivities more than 10 times higher than for ordinary epoxy resin laminates were obtained for test pieces of the laminates.