In recent decades there has been a significant focus upon the incorporation of electronic components into textiles and wearable garments for functionalities such as sensing, health, environment monitoring, and energy storage. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Owing to the rapid development of nanoscience and technology, it is now possible to build electronic functions inside of, or on the surface of, fibers and consequently incorporate them into a garment structure using well-established textile fabrication techniques. [1] As a result of the ever-increasing demand for wearable electronics, research has focused on the development of electrically conductive fibers for applications including strain sensing, energy storage, and electrical wiring. [8][9][10][11][12] Heat removal and heat management in microelectronics is now becoming important in light of the ever-growing demand for miniaturization and development of wearable electronics. [13] As a result, thermally conductive polymeric composite materials utilizing carbonous fillers such as reduced graphene oxide [14] or inorganic fillers such as boron nitride (BN) [15][16][17][18][19] have been investigated in a range of application including self-healing resins, electronic packaging, ultrahigh voltage electrical devices, and energy storage field. [14,[16][17][18][19][20] Alternatively, electrospun polyethylene fibers [21] and carbon fibers [22] have also been investigated as thermally conductive substrates.In this study, processable thermally conductive composite fibers have been produced utilizing a solvent-based polymerfiller solution mixing method from which fibers were produced via a wet-spinning (solvent/non-solvent) technique. [23] Non-cross-linked polyurethane (PU) was selected as it exhibits similar mechanical properties to that of rubber, whilst being thermally and solvent-processable. The combination of high elasticity along with high abrasion resistance makes PU very popular for a wide range of applications. [24] In addition, noncross-linked PU is readily soluble in organic solvents, from which composite structures with different fillers can be readily produced. [5,8,9,25] Boron nitride, also known as white graphite, is an isoelectronic with carbon and has a wide range of attractive properties such as high thermal conductivity, low coefficient of thermal expansion, high electrical resistivity over a wide temperature range, high temperature stability, high mechanical strength and hardness, and chemically and thermally stable
Thermally Conductive FibersThe demand for wearable electronics has resulted in an increasing interest in the development of functional fibers, with a specific focus upon the development of electrically conductive fibers incorporable into garments. However, the production of thermally conductive fibers for heat dissipation has been largely neglected. Owing to the very rapid development of miniaturized wearable electronics, there is an increasing need for the development of thermally conductive fibers as heat sinks and thermal management processes....