Cellulose/graphene bioplastic for thermal management: Enhanced isotropic thermally conductive property by three-dimensional interconnected graphene aerogel

Environment-friendly cellulose bioplastic is a promising material to replace fossil-fuel plastic for the more sustainable future. In present study, we reported a functional cellulose bioplastic that can be used for thermal management. The cellulose bioplastic was easily fabricated by impregnating three-dimensional graphene aerogel (GA) into the cellulose solution and then hot-pressed. The cellulose/GA composites exhibited enhanced isotropic thermal conductivity and good mechanical performance. The thermal conductivity of the cellulose/GA composite was 0.67 W m−1 K−1 in vertical direction increasing by 219% and 0.72 W m−1 K−1 in parallel direction, increasing by 44% respectively. Meanwhile, the hardness of the composites reached to 148 MPa and the Young's modulus is 2.3 GPa, superior to those of most common plastics, such as Nylon and Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The integrated performance of the composites could be attributed to the formation of efficient thermally conductive network and the good adhesion between the graphene cell wall and the cellulose.