Copper Powder For Heat Conductivity

Copper metal is one of the best materials for heat conductivity. That is why many radiators, cooling coils and heating coils are made of copper.

This article is about heat conductivity of copper and use of copper powder in production of heat conductive fillers, heat conductive pastes and heat conductive liquids.

What if you need to fill up a gap with a heat conductive substance? For example when you want to maximize the heat exchange between a pipe and a thermostat sensing bulb, you can fill up the gap with a copper paste or aluminum paste. (Aluminum is another good heat conductor!).

A heat conductive paste can be made by mixing copper powder and a binder. Depending on the application and the expected temperature range you may choose a two part epoxy binder, some oil based resin binder or any of the water soluble natural or synthetic binders.

Many copper powders may be used to make heat conductive binders. Among them CU301 or CU301-E are recommended for large gaps (more than 3 mm wide) and CU7005F for small gaps (less than 3 mm wide).

How to choose a binder for heat conductive copper paste?

In addition to the operation temperature, there are two other factors affecting your choice of binder for a heat conductive copper paste.

The first factor is the base material. You must make sure that your binder can adhere to the base material and remain secure in your operating temperature. You must also make sure that the binder does not cause corrosion on your base materials.

The second factor is the expected life for the paste and if you may ever have to remove it. Some compounds are easy to remove and some others cannot be removed without damaging the adjacent parts.  

Questions? Please call 973-405-6247 to discuss your specific needs.