Citation: Jinrui Qian, Yue Sun, Feixiang Long, Yiqing Liu, Guozhen Chang, Yuzhu Song, Naike Shi, Andrea Sanson, Xiuzhu Han, Chang Zhou, Jun Chen. Significantly improving the performances of thermal conductivity and thermal expansion in aluminum matrix composites through a multiphase design strategy[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(7): 111849. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111849 shu

Significantly improving the performances of thermal conductivity and thermal expansion in aluminum matrix composites through a multiphase design strategy

Jinrui Qian ^a ,
Yue Sun ^a ,
Feixiang Long ^a ,
Yiqing Liu ^a ,
Guozhen Chang ^a ,
Yuzhu Song ^a ,
Naike Shi ^a ,
Andrea Sanson ^c ,
Xiuzhu Han ^{a, *,} ,
Chang Zhou ^{a, b, *,} ,
Jun Chen ^a

a.
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
b.
State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
c.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova I-35131, Italy

xiuzhuhan@163.com

changzhou@ustb.edu.cn

Received Date: 11 July 2025
Revised Date: 8 September 2025
Accepted Date: 17 September 2025
Available Online: 17 September 2025

Figures(4)

Developing metal matrix composites with low thermal expansion yet high thermal conductivity (λ) has been an ongoing effort in electronic packaging materials due to the growing demand for high-power applications. However, progress has been hindered by the insufficient thermal expansion suppression of conventional low thermal expansion reinforcements or the low λ of negative thermal expansion reinforcements. In this study, this challenge is overcome via a multiphase design strategy using ZrW₂O₈ and SiC to co-reinforce the aluminum matrix composites. This approach simultaneously combines the advantages of the ZrW₂O₈ for controlling the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and SiC for improving λ. A controlled CTE-λ balance (6.22–9.7 × 10^–⁶ K^-1, 63.1–131.1 W/mK) can be obtained by varying the volume ratio of ZrW₂O₈ to SiC. The CTE of this composite is significantly lower than that of the 50 vol% SiC/Al composite, while its CTE is approximately equal to that of the 45 vol% ZrW₂O₈/Al composite but with a twofold increase in λ. The good thermal performance of this composite can be attributed to the strong interfacial interactions of SiC and the tailored variation in CTE. Furthermore, simulation and experimental results revealed that the residual stress can be effectively relieved through this strategy. This work presents a straightforward structural design and an effective pathway to manufacture composites with excellent integrated properties.
- Metal matrix composites,
- Thermal expansion behavior,
- Thermal conductivity,
- Multiphase design residual stress
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