| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Material Science and Technology, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin, 150040 China;2. Department of Material Science and Technology, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin, 150040 China
Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectric and Its Application Technology of Ministry of Education, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin, 150040 China;3. Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210037 China;4. Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of Molecular Design and Preparation of Flame Retarded Materials, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040 China;5. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan, 030024 China;6. Materials and Manufacturing Research Group, James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ UK;7. Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8ST UK;8. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, 90095 USA;9. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9 Canada |
| Abstract: | Recently, the need for miniaturization and high integration have steered a strong technical wave in developing (micro-)electronic devices. However, excessive amounts of heat may be generated during operation/charging, severely affecting device performance and leading to life/property loss. Benefiting from their low density, easy processing and low manufacturing cost, thermally conductive polymer composites have become a research hotspot to mitigate the disadvantage of excessive heat, with potential applications in 5G communication, electronic packaging and energy transmission. By far, the reported thermal conductivity coefficient (λ) of thermally conductive polymer composite is far from expectation. Deeper understanding of heat transfer mechanism is desired for developing next generation thermally conductive composites. This review holistically scopes current advances in this field, while giving special attention to critical factors that affect thermal conductivity in polymer composites as well as the thermal conduction mechanisms on how to enhance the λ value. This review covers critical factors such as interfacial thermal resistance, chain structure of polymer, intrinsic λ value of different thermally conductive fillers, orientation/configuration of nanoparticles, 3D interconnected networks, processing technology, etc. The applications of thermally conductive polymer composites in electronic devices are summarized. The existing problems are also discussed, new challenges and opportunities are prospected. |
