Carbon nanotube thermal pastes for improving thermal contacts

The use of 0.6 vol.% single-walled carbon nanotubes in a poly(ethylene glycol)-based dispersion gave a thermal paste that was as effective as solder for improving thermal contacts. A thermal contact conductance of 20 × 10 ⁴ W m ^-2 K ^-1 was attained. An excessive amount of nanotubes (e.g. 1.8 vol.%) degraded the performance, because of conformability loss. The nanotubes were more effective than hexagonal boron nitride particles but were less effective than carbon black, which gave a thermal contact conductance of 30 × 10 ⁴ W m ^-2 K ^-1.