Preparation of graphitic foil with high thermal conductivity using Vitamin C as reductant and binder

[Display omitted] •VC is employed as reductant and binder for preparing graphitic foil.•The derivatives of VC can fuse the multilayer films, repair the defects and bridge graphene sheets.•Graphitic foil with a thickness ranging from 424 to 900 μm is innovatively prepared.•The obtained graphene foil has high thickness as well as high thermal conductivity. In the face of increased heat dissipation requirements of high-power electronic devices, the fabrication of graphitic foil with high thermal conductivity is urgently needed. In this work, graphitic foil with the thickness ranging from 424 to 900 μm is innovatively prepared by blade coating, hot-pressing, and graphitization process through solution-derived graphene oxide (GO), employing Vitamin C (VC) as reductant and binder. VC amount is optimized, the acting mechanism of VC is clarified, and the morphology and structure evolution of GO film are extensively investigated. The results indicate that VC can mildly reduce the oxygen-containing function group of GO, and the cross-linked derivatives of VC can effectively fuse the multilayer reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films and regulate the microstructure of graphitic foil. When the VC/GO mass ratio is 1, the prepared graphitic foil with a thickness of 680 µm has the best thermal diffusion ability and mechanical strength. It has a high thermal conductivity of 1042 W m−1 K−1 and tensile strength of 42.05 MPa. The thermal diffusion ability, expressed as h × K value, reaches as high as 0.708 W K−1. This study provides a pioneering strategy for constructing advanced thermal conductive materials.