Crystallization induced realignment of carbon fibers in a phase change material to achieve exceptional thermal transportation properties

Considering the significant threat of heat to electronic equipment and the heat dissipation problems existing in powerful systems, thermal management materials are in high demand. In conjunction with the increasing desire of dissipating heat and stabilizing temperature, high thermal conductivity and phase change latent heat are attracting more attention when designing thermal management material. This work proposes a strategy to combine phase change matrix and thermally conductive filler using freeze casting. The highest thermal conductivity reaches 23.1 W m-1 K-1 accompanied by 62 J g-1 phase change latent heat. Meanwhile, replacing ice with organic phase change material in freeze casting can result in an aligned structure. This discovery will pave a novel way for introducing thermal latent heat without abandoning the aligned structure.