Flexible epoxy-dispersed liquid crystal membranes of intrinsic thermal conductivity with high voltage orientation molding

Flexible epoxy-dispersed liquid crystal membranes (EDLC- v membranes) with high thermal conductivity were successfully prepared by using of high voltage orientation molding. Liquid crystal monomer (LCM) was uniformly dispersed into flexible epoxy polymers cured by trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (TTMP) or pentaerythritol tetra(3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP). In-plane thermal conductivity (TC // ) of EDLC- v membranes reached to 1.47 W m −1 K −1 with LCM content of 30 wt%, which was 5.65 times higher than that of epoxy polymers without LCM (0.26 W m −1 K −1 ). In addition, the tensile strength and elongation at break of EDLC- v membranes were up to 27.9 MPa and 92.8%, respectively. The main reasons for high TC // and flexibility of EDLC- v membranes are molecular chains' ordered arrangement, crosslinking in epoxy polymers, hydrogen bond interaction, and high voltage orientation molding. This work provided a new and feasible way to prepare intrinsic high thermal conductive polymer materials, as well as flexible epoxy polymers.