Co-creation of bioinspired capillary architectures with high thermal conductivity

With increasing power density in advanced systems, efficient heat dissipation is crucial. Traditional high-thermal-conductivity materials are effective but insufficient for future cooling needs. Here, we report a bioinspired Cu-diamond composite with ultrahigh thermal conductivity and integrated hierarchical structures for sustainable boiling/evaporation cooling. A proposed diamond-seeding deposition method creates defect-free Cu-diamond composites, achieving 688.8 ± 142.1 W/(m·K) thermal conductivity at a diamond fraction of 42.1% ± 3.2%. The Sarracenia trichome-inspired graded superhydrophilic microchannels are engineered on the composite material using one-step laser ablation. The bioinspired structures reach a capillary velocity of 134.9 mm/s, surpassing the natural record by 1,052.7%, demonstrating a capability critical for sustainable boiling/evaporation. Heat management tests further confirm that the monolayer composite, coordinated with the bioinspired structures, significantly enhances both the thermal response rate and cooling performance. We envision the exquisite co-creation of thermal-functional structures as a complementary platform to cooling techniques for broad applications.