The thermal properties of metal foam include melting point, specific heat, thermal expansion coefficient, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal radiation and thermal shock resistance, some of which are the same as the matrix material, while others are related to the porosity, Pore ​​type and pore size are closely related.
Materials with good thermal conductivity tend to absorb heat quickly and dissipate heat quickly. If some systems require a large amount of heat absorption or heat dissipation during use, materials with good thermal conductivity are selected. According to the thermal conductivity ranking of pure metals, silver, copper, aluminum, tungsten, magnesium and other materials, while the thermal conductivity of alloys is generally worse. It can be seen that the thermal conductivity of copper heat sinks is the best among industrial metals.

So why are the heat sinks mostly made of aluminum instead of copper?
It is also true that copper conducts heat very well because it has a much higher thermal conductivity than aluminum. But the heat dissipation capacity of a radiator depends not only on the thermal conductivity of the material, but also on the heat dissipation area, the shape of the radiator, and the air flow conditions.
No matter how small the specific heat capacity of copper is, the specific heat capacity of copper must be lower, its temperature rises faster, and it is easier to dissipate heat. However, the density of copper is 3.3 times that of aluminum. The radiator is a product of size and cannot be enlarged indefinitely. Then the weight of copper is greater for the same volume.
Under many factors, the cost of copper radiators is often more than 400% more expensive than that of aluminum radiators, but in terms of price, the market cannot accept copper radiators that are 4 times the price.
So is there any material that can have the thermal conductivity of copper, but the volume and weight are comparable to aluminum?
Foamed copper may be a new material worthy of attention, which has many connected and disconnected pores evenly distributed in the copper matrix. Foamed copper has good electrical conductivity and ductility, and has low preparation cost and good electrical conductivity.