This article describes the fabrication of solid and porous polylactide (PLA)‐multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) composites prepared using melt blending and subsequent batch processing of porous structures. The morphology and thermal, rheological and electrical properties of the PLA‐MWNT composites prepared with MWNT concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 wt% were characterized. The composite structure consisted of identifiable regions of MWNT aggregation and MWNT dispersion. Increasing MWNT content was found to increase the thermal stability and crystallization kinetics of PLA. The addition of MWNT to PLA significantly increased the melt viscosity and electrical conductivity of the composites. Based on rheological and electrical measurements, a continuous MWNT network structure in PLA was found to form when the concentration of MWNT is increased from 0.5 wt% (0.33 vol%) to 1 wt% (0.66 vol%). As many current day applications of polymers and polymer composites require lightweight and low‐density materials, porous PLA‐MWNT composites were fabricated from a batch porous structure processing technique. Porous PLA‐MWNT composites containing 2 and 5 wt% MWNT had lower relative densities, which is attributed to the higher viscosity of the composites suppressing collapse of the porous structure during processing. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers

Designers of electronic devices and telecommunications equipment have used different methods (e.g., three-dimensional chip architecture, comprised of a vertically integrated stack of chips) to increase the number of transistors on integrated circuits. These latest chips generate excessive amounts of heat and thus can reach unacceptably high temperatures. In this context, this research aims to develop thermally conductive liquid crystal polymer (LCP)-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) composite films to replace the traditionally used Kapton films that satisfy the electrical insulation requirements for the attachment of heat sinks to the chips without compromising the heat dissipation performance. Experimental simulations show that the maximum temperature of the heater mounted with a hybrid heat sink reduced with increased hBN content. Furthermore, a sufficient slow cooling process in the fabrication stage of the LCP/hBN composite films promotes the fibrillation of LCP matrix, leading to highly ordered structure and promoted the composite’s heat dissipation ability.

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