Thermal Conductivity of Polymers and Their Nanocomposites

Abstract

Polymers are usually considered as thermal insulators and their applications are limited by their low thermal conductivity. However, recent studies showed that certain polymers have surprisingly high thermal conductivity, some of which are comparable to that in poor metals or even silicon. In this review, we outline the experimental achievements and theoretical progress of thermal transport in polymers and their nanocomposites. The open questions and challenges of existing theories are discussed. Special attention is given to the mechanism of thermal transport, the enhancement of thermal conductivity in polymer nanocomposites/fibers, and their potential application as thermal interface materials.

24 pages,3 figures

References in corpus (17)

• Thermal Properties of Graphene, Carbon Nanotubes and Nanostructured Carbon Materials
• Thermal transport measurements of individual multiwalled nanotubes
• Dimensional crossover of thermal transport in few-layer graphene materials
• Energy Dissipation and Transport in Nanoscale Devices
• Length-dependent thermal conductivity in suspended single-layer graphene
• Phonon-glass electron-crystal thermoelectric clathrates: Experiments and theory
• Anomalous Size Dependence of the Thermal Conductivity of Graphene Ribbons
• Polymer Nanofibers with Outstanding Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Stability: Fundamental Linkage between Molecular Characteristics and Macroscopic Thermal Properties
• Effect of Covalent Functionalisation on Thermal Transport Across Graphene-Polymer Interfaces
• Superior thermal conductivity in suspended bilayer hexagonal boron nitride
• Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Heat Conduction in Nanostructures: Effect of Heat Bath
• A generalized Debye-Peierls/Allen-Feldman model for the lattice thermal conductivity of low dimensional and disordered materials
• Thermal conduction across a boron nitride and silicon oxide interface
• Interfacial thermal conductance across metal-insulator/semiconductor interfaces due to surface states
• Lorenz number in high Tc superconductors: evidence for bipolarons
• Hopping Processes Explain T-linear Rise of Thermal Conductivity in Thermoelectric Clathrates above the Plateau
• Exact solution for the force-extension relation of a semiflexible polymer under compression

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Polymer Nanocomposites having a High Filler Content: Synthesis, Structures, Properties, and Applications
• Materials discovery and properties prediction in thermal transport via materials informatics: a mini-review
• Maximization and Minimization of Interfacial Thermal Conductance by Modulating the Mass Distribution of Interlayer
• Unified Modeling and Experimental Realization of Electrical and Thermal Percolation in Polymer Composites
• A Thermal Resistance Network Model for Heat Conduction of Amorphous Polymers
• Cross interface model for the thermal transport across interface between overlapped boron nitride nanoribbons
• Aromatic molecular junctions between graphene sheets: a molecular dynamics screening for enhanced thermal conductance
• Thermal Conductivities and Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Resin as a Function of the Degree of Cross-linking
• Significantly enhanced polymer thermal conductivity by confining effect through bilayer MoS2 Surfaces
• Disorder controlled sound speed and thermal conductivity of hybrid metalcone films
• Deep learning reveals key predictors of thermal conductivity in covalent organic frameworks
• Thermal Transport in Polymers: A Review