Hospitals need

adequately clean environments to avoid the growth of bacteria; however, most

thermally conductive materials used as a housing for medical electronic devices

provide an ideal substrate for bacterial growth. Herein, we grafted quaternary ammonium

compounds (QACs) on the surfaces of h-BN nanoplatelets via hydroxylation to

form functional fillers for linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE); as expected,

the results of the antimicrobial testing of the 25 vol% QACs@h-BN/LLDPE

nanoplatelet composites showed approximately 100% growth inhibition against

both E. coli and S. aureus bacteria. Also, the zone-of-inhibition test confirms

that the disinfection method of QACs@h-BN/LLDPE nanoplatelet composites is

contact killing without the release of biocides, which cause environmental pollution.

Notably, morphology analyses (SEM) revealed that the introduction of organic

chains onto h-BN also significantly improved the degree of interface

combination with LLDPE, which promoted more efficient heat transfer. The

thermal conductivity of the 25 vol% QACs@h-BN/LLDPE nanoplatelet composites

could reach 1.115 W m_1 K_1; this value distinctly exceeded

that of the unmodified h-BN/ LLDPE nanoplatelet composites (0.926 W m_1 K_1).

Moreover, the preparation strategy of this research is substrate independent;

therefore, the modified QACs@h-BN nanoplatelets can be applied to a broad range

of materials to prepare different types of thermally conductive and

antimicrobial composite materials