No temperature dependence of thermal conductivity of high impact polystyrene/Cu alloy composites: Effective medium theory study

Thermally conductive materials usually need to be used within a certain temperature range (−20 to 100 °C). However, the thermal conductivity conventional thermally conductive materials have a negative temperature dependence in this temperature range. This leads to a reduction in the thermal conductivity of thermally conductive materials at high temperatures (around 100 °C). Therefore, the thermally conductive composite of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) / copper-zinc alloy (Cu alloy) with thermal conductivity that does not vary with temperature was successfully prepared in the range of − 20∼80 °C in this work. The negative contribution of thermal conductivity due to thermal expansion of the composite is countered by the positive temperature-dependent property of thermal conductivity unique to metal alloys. The effect of Cu alloy content on the variation pattern of thermal conductivity of the composite with temperature was investigated. The results show that the higher the Cu alloy content, the higher the thermal conductivity tends to be in positive dependence. The material can be used in chemical heat exchangers and other devices that require high temperature heat dissipation, and provides accurate data for chemical production heat calculation.