Lignin-Reinforced Paper with Excellent Stability and Thermal Properties for an Efficient Heat Spreader

Cellulosic fiber (CF) has gained extensive attention as the flexible and supporting substrate of silver nanowires (AgNWs) due to its excellent mechanical properties and high specific surface area. However, its susceptibility to corrosion and abrasion still remains a limiting factor for widespread adoption in flexible electronic devices. Herein, we report a lignin-abundant cellulosic fiber (LCF)/AgNW conductive paper synthesized through a sample self-assembly method. Benefiting from the strong chemical/physical properties of the presence of lignin in the LCF, the LCF/AgNW paper was proved to possess enhanced stability to various chemical corrosions and excellent conductive reliability and reusability during mechanical abrasions (i.e., bending and friction). Importantly, the LCF/AgNW paper exhibited a high conductivity of 4561.88 S/cm at the laden AgNWs of 18.57 wt %, much higher than that of the CF/AgNW paper and other reported biomass-based conductive papers. Moreover, the LCF/AgNW paper also showed superior thermal management performances, possessing sensitive temperature driving capacity and rapid heat dispersive capacity. These efforts could provide a facile and feasible route for the design of next-generation heat dissipation components for flexible smart devices.