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

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Abstract

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.

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Funding

The resent work was supported by a PhD research start-up foundation of Xiangtan University (20QDZ19) and the Opening Project of State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers (Fudan University) (No. k2021-14).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, China

    Xiaoxiang He, Dan Ou, Shuying Wu, Yue Luo & Ying Ma

  2. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Jingyao Sun

  3. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Jingyao Sun

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  1. Xiaoxiang He
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  2. Dan Ou
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  3. Shuying Wu
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  4. Yue Luo
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Correspondence to Ying Ma or Jingyao Sun.

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He, X., Ou, D., Wu, S. et al. A mini review on factors affecting network in thermally enhanced polymer composites: filler content, shape, size, and tailoring methods. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 5, 21–38 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-021-00321-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-021-00321-1

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