Optimizing Thermal Properties of Thermal Interface Materials Using the Adhesion Mechanism of Gecko’s Setae

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are the vital method for solving heat dissipation problem in microelectronics field. However, there is often a trade-off between to construct high-performance TIMs with low contact thermal resistance and high thermal conductivity. Herein, inspired by the adhesion mechanism, we reporter a polydimethylsiloxane-based TIMs with optimized thermal properties by adjusting dangling chain structures. The shorter dangling chains are more comfortable for the microscopic rough surface of the filler and substrate, reducing phonon scattering and thus resulting in low contact thermal resistance (0.48 ± 0.08 K cm ² W ^-1 ) and excellent thermal conductivity (4.57 ± 0.03 W m ^–1 K ^–1 ). This study provides a whole new perspective for the development and preparation of TIMs.