Quick question: Are there any common or easily obtainable materials that are thermal conductors, but also flexible? By flexible, I mean along the lines of a plastic bag, with similar or greater durability.
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2$\begingroup$ Aluminium foil. Dunno where one can get one thick enough to be durable. $\endgroup$– MithoronCommented Jul 25, 2018 at 17:43
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$\begingroup$ Depends on how good of a thermal conductor you need. For example, silver-loaded epoxies are better thermal conductors than plain epoxy, so are often used in microelectronic packaging. But, the silver-loaded epoxy will never be confused with pure silver for thermal conductance. $\endgroup$– Jon CusterCommented Jul 25, 2018 at 18:50
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There is a reasonable answer that does not involve aluminium. Thin silicone sheets are extremely available, but an even better solution to your problem would be a polyurethane elastomer with a thermal conductive filler however these are less readily available. Obviously they are not going to be as thermally conductive as metals but that is the sacrifice you make (currently) for flexibility.
Hopefully in the future graphene will be cheap and readily available but with the green energy crisis, I doubt it!
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$\begingroup$ I always assumed silicone was an insulator, considering some water bottles/bladders are made of it. Figured manufacturers would want to avoid thermal transfer. It's actually the opposite of what I'm looking into; essentially an expansion chamber type of water bladder in a closed loop system that can still radiate heat. If it is the case that all silicon can transfer heat more effectively than plastic, then perhaps I could just use one of those water bladders as initial experiments. $\endgroup$– hiigaranCommented Jul 26, 2018 at 8:12
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$\begingroup$ In general it is, but some silicones are designed for the purpose of heat dissipation and are commonly used in electronics for such a purpose. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 14:01