A Sungkyunkwan University research team has developed a novel nanocomposite material with enhanced electrical and thermal conductivity. The university said Tuesday that the team, led by professors Baik Seung-hyun and Choi Joon-myung of the School of Mechanical Engineering, developed the material and successfully applied it to a heat-dissipation technology for foldable smartphones. The findings were published online on Aug. 24 in the international journal Advanced Functional Materials under the title “Ballistic-like Thermal Transport Between Fillers in Highly Conductive Stretchable Nanocomposites.” Baik served as the corresponding author. Research professor C. Muhammed Ajmal and researcher Cheon Seong-su served as co-first authors. “The significance of this study lies in discovering a unique physical phenomenon in which thermal conductivity increases as the material is stretched through precise control of energy barriers between particles at the nanoscale,” Baik said. “The study also demonstrated that this phenomenon can be applied to thermal management in flexible electronic dev