Graphene Aerogel Enhancement for Next-Generation Ultralight Thermal Management Applications

Abstract

Graphene aerogels (GAs), composed of three-dimensional porous networks, suffer from inherently low thermal conductivity due to high interfacial resistance and structural defects. This study investigates interfacial bond engineering via platinum atomic layer deposition (Pt-ALD) to enhance thermal transport in GAs and compares it to conventional high-temperature annealing at 1873 K. The Pt-ALD-treated GA (GA-ALD) exhibited a 199% increase in thermal conductivity, significantly surpassing the 113% enhancement achieved through heat treatment. Structural analyses (SEM, Raman, XRD, and XPS) revealed the formation of Pt-O-C covalent bonds between adjacent layers, with the porous morphology preserved. The GA-ALD heat sink demonstrated a total thermal resistance of 8.9 K/W under forced convection, approaching that of a commercial aluminum heat sink (8.5 K/W), while weighing only 12% as much. These results confirm that Pt-ALD is an effective and scalable method for improving both thermal and mechanical properties of porous graphene structures, offering a promising pathway toward ultralight heat-sink materials for electric vehicles and power electronics.