Heatsinks for processors can become plastic and this is not a conspiracy of manufacturers

A group of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology continues to work successfully in a very interesting direction. Nine years ago, in the journal Nature Communications, MIT staff published a report, which reported on the development of an interesting technology for straightening polyethylene molecules. In its normal state, polyethylene, like other polymers, looks like a porridge of many lumps of sticky spaghetti. This makes the polymer an excellent heat insulator, and scientists have always wanted the unusual. If only we could make a polymer that could conduct heat as well as metals! And all that is needed for this is nothing - to straighten the polymer molecules so that they can transfer heat through monochannels from the source to the place of dispersion. The experiment was a success. The scientists were able to create individual polyethylene fibers with excellent thermal conductivity. But this was not enough for introduction into the industry.

Today, the same group of scientists at MIT published a new report on thermally conductive polymers. A lot of work has been done over the past nine years. Instead of making individual fibers, scientists developed and created a pilot plant for the manufacture of a film heat-conducting coating. Moreover, to create heat-conducting films, not unique raw materials, like nine years ago, were used, but ordinary commercial polyethylene powder for industry.

In a pilot plant, polyethylene powder is dissolved in a liquid and then the composition is sprayed onto a plate cooled with liquid nitrogen. After that, the workpiece is heated and stretched on a rolling machine to the state of a thin film, as thick as wrapping. The measurements showed that the thermally conductive polyethylene film produced in this way has a thermal conductivity coefficient of 60 W/(m·K). For comparison, for steel this figure is 15 W/(m K), and for ordinary plastic it is 0,1–0,5 W/(m K). Diamond boasts the best thermal conductivity - 2000 W / (m K), but it is also good to bypass metals in terms of thermal conductivity.

The thermally conductive polymer also has a number of other important qualities. Thus, heat is conducted strictly in one direction. Imagine a laptop or smartphone that removes heat from processors without an active cooling system. Other important areas of application for thermally conductive plastics can be automobiles, refrigeration units, and more. Plastic is not afraid of corrosion, does not conduct electricity, light and durable. The introduction of such materials into life can give impetus to the development of the industry in many industries. I wish that this bright day would not have to wait another nine years.

Source: 3dnews.ru