To enhance the thermal conductivity of polymers, a polymer composite system is an effective method, where types of thermally conductive fillers are often introduced into the polymer matrices to form special paths for the phonons or electrons. After years of studies, it can be concluded that selective fillers of different aspect ratio, size, and content and tailoring methods of filler network often result in multiple arrangements of filler network in space, which greatly affect the thermal conductivity of polymer composites. Thus, in this review, we summarize the main affecting factors of filler network, including the types, sizes, and shapes of fillers. Later, we discuss the latest progress of approaches to tailor the filler networks and outline the challenges and prospects of thermally conductive polymer composites.

A mini review on factors affecting network in thermally enhanced polymer composites: filler content, shape, size, and tailoring methods

At present, the rapid accumulation of heat and the heat dissipation of electronic equipment and related components are important reasons that restrict the miniaturization, high integration, and high power of electronic equipment. It seriously affects the performance and life of electronic devices. Hence, improving the thermal conductivity of polymer composites (TCPCs) is the key to solving this problem. Compared with manufacturing intrinsic thermally conductive polymer composites, the method of filling the polymer matrix with thermally conductive fillers can better-enhance the thermal conductivity (λ) of the composites. This review starts from the thermal conduction mechanism and describes the factors affecting the λ of polymer composites, including filler type, filler morphology and distribution, and the functional surface treatment of fillers. Next, we introduce the preparation methods of filled thermally conductive polymer composites with different filler types. In addition, some commonly used thermal-conductivity theoretical models have been introduced to better-analyze the thermophysical properties of polymer composites. We discuss the simulation of λ and the thermal conduction process of polymer composites based on molecular dynamics and finite element analysis methods. Meanwhile, we briefly introduce the application of polymer composites in thermal management. Finally, we outline the challenges and prospects of TCPCs.

Recent Advances in Preparation, Mechanisms, and Applications of Thermally Conductive Polymer Composites: A Review

Surface treatment of two dimensional MXene for poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanocomposites with tunable dielectric permittivity

High thermal conductive composite with low dielectric constant and dielectric loss accomplished through flower-like Al2O3 coated BNNs for advanced circuit substrate applications

Dielectric polymer composites with high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss are highly demanded for various types of devices. In this work, the core–shell structured polydopamine functionalized silicon carbide whiskers (SiC@PDA) were successfully synthesized. The presence of PDA effectively suppressed the dielectric loss of PVDF/SiC@PDA composites because it could inhibit the connection between fillers and reduce the interfacial polarity. Moreover, the thicker PDA layer contributed to improving dielectric breakdown strength and reducing AC conductivity of PVDF composites. The insulating PVDF/SiC@PDA-a-30 composite containing 30 wt% of SiC@PDA-a had a dielectric constant of 35.1 while the dielectric loss still maintained as low as 0.037 at 1 KHz. Meanwhile, PVDF/SiC@PDA-a-30 achieved the maximum stress of 58.8 MPa with elongation at break of 17.3% due to PDA layer improved the compatibility between SiC@PDA and PVDF. This simple coated PDA shell strategy could be extended to inorganic fillers to develop high performance dielectric polymer composites.

Mussel-inspired polydopamine functionalized silicon carbide whisker for PVDF composites with enhanced dielectric performance

Generic melt compounding strategy using reactive graphene towards high performance polyethylene/graphene nanocomposites

Thermally conductive ternary poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based dielectric materials were fabricated via engineering the filler networks using hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets and surface functionalized silicon carbide (f-SiC) nanowires. The hBN nanosheets and f-SiC nanowires synergistically improved the thermal conductivity of the composites, in a way that parallelly oriented f-SiC nanowires bridged by the hBN nanosheet networks. The ternary composites with 20 wt% hBN nanosheets and 26 wt% f-SiC nanowires exhibited a high thermal conductivity of 1.41 W/mK, about 5.9 times of that of neat PVDF. In addition, the ternary composites showed superior dielectric permittivity, while maintaining a low loss at 1 kHz. The presence of f-SiC nanowires contributed to the interfacial polarization between the fillers and PVDF matrix, resulting in the increased dielectric permittivity. Meanwhile, low dielectric loss could be maintained due to the isolation of f-SiC nanowires by insulating hBN nanosheets and PVDF matrix.

Highly thermally conductive PVDF-based ternary dielectric composites via engineering hybrid filler networks

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Generic melt compounding strategy using reactive graphene towards high performance polyethylene/graphene nanocomposites

Highly thermally conductive PVDF-based ternary dielectric composites via engineering hybrid filler networks