The mechanical properties especially the compression performance are very important for thermal interface materials (TIMs) to mitigate warpage failure caused by stress concentration and reduce contact resistance in practical applications. However, high thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical properties are generally incompatible in traditional TIMs. Herein, we fabricate a high-performance carbon fiber-based TIM by using an extrusion method based on the flow shearing effect. The vertically oriented composite shows a through-plane thermal conductivity up to 18.5 W·m·K at 20 wt% carbon fiber content, which is 92.7 times that of pure matrix and 6.3 times that of the random structure. Moreover, the as-prepared material exhibits low hardness of 56 (Shore 00) and outstanding elastic compression performance of 51.4% compression under a pressure of 45 psi. These excellent properties are primarily attributed to the high orientation of the carbon fibers (CFs), thereby establishing a direct and effective thermal conductivity path in the vertical direction. In addition, the synergistic effect of carbon fibers and alumina particles is also beneficial for building thermal conduction pathways. Our work provides an insight to further research in fabricating high-performance flexible TIMs as a promising candidate for applying in advanced thermal management fields.

中文翻译：

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由垂直定向碳纤维制成的具有高平面导热率的可压缩热界面材料

机械性能尤其是压缩性能对于热界面材料（TIM）来说非常重要，以减轻实际应用中应力集中引起的翘曲失效并降低接触电阻。然而，传统 TIM 的高导热率和优异的机械性能通常是不兼容的。在此，我们利用基于流动剪切效应的挤出方法制造了高性能碳纤维基TIM。当碳纤维含量为20 wt%时，垂直取向复合材料的贯穿面导热系数高达18.5 W·m·K，是纯基体的92.7倍，是随机结构的6.3倍。此外，所制备的材料表现出56（肖氏00）的低硬度和在45 psi压力下压缩51.4%的出色弹性压缩性能。这些优异的性能主要归功于碳纤维（CF）的高取向，从而在垂直方向上建立了直接有效的导热路径。此外，碳纤维和氧化铝颗粒的协同效应也有利于构建热传导通路。我们的工作为进一步研究制造高性能柔性 TIM 作为先进热管理领域的有希望的候选者提供了见解。