Coating polyrhodanine onto boron nitride nanosheets for thermally conductive elastomer composites

Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) have captured much attention in the fabrication of thermally conductive and electrically insulating polymer-based composites. However, inert surface chemistry of BNNSs largely hampers their applications in polymer composites. Herein, we report a facile approach for the fabrication of elastomer/BNNSs composites with high thermal conductivity. BNNSs were first wrapped by polyrhodanine in water to form the polyrhodanine@BNNSs nanostructure (PRh-BNNSs) and then compounded with styrene-butadiene rubber to form the elastomer composites. Due to the unique curing reactivity of polyrhodanine, strong interfaces were formed in the resulting elastomer composites. Accordingly, the SBR/PRh-BNNSs composites exhibited unique combination of high mechanical properties and high thermal conductivity. Importantly, the orientation of BNNSs in the elastomer led to further increase in thermal conductivity. Overall, the present work offers a new route for the design of thermally conductive elastomers through the combination of efficient interfacial modification and filler organization.