Preparation and properties of polystyrene/SiCw/SiCp thermal conductivity composites

The silicon carbide whisker (SiCw) and silicon carbide particle (SiCp) were employed to prepare polystyrene/silicon carbide whisker/silicon carbide particle (PS/SiCw/SiCp) thermal conductivity composites, and the titanate coupling reagent of NDZ‐105 was introduced to functionalize the surface of fillers. The thermal conductive coefficient λ improved from 0.18 W/mK for native PS to 1.29 W/mK for the composites with 40% volume fraction of SiCw/SiCp (volume fraction, 3 : 1) hybrid fillers. Both the thermal decomposition temperature and dielectric constant of the composites increased with the addition of SiCw/SiCp hybrid fillers. At the same addition of SiCw/SiCp hybrid fillers, the surface modification of hybrid fillers by NDZ‐105 could improve the thermal conductivity and the mechanical properties of the composites. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012