Recent Advance on Graphene in Heat Transfer Enhancement of Composites
Abstract
Graphene, a monolayer of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal honeycomb lattice with sp2-hybridized orbital, exhibits large specific surface area and super high thermal conductivity. Therefore, graphene-based polymer composites have great potential in the field of thermal management, such as nanofluids, thermal conductive polymer materials, thermal interface materials and phase change materials. In this review, firstly, the intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene is introduced, and it is mainly affected by edge conditions, size, defects and hydrogen functionalization. Secondly, the application of graphene in improving thermal transport properties of composites is presented. Lastly, the factors affecting the thermal transport properties of composites and the common improvement methods are summarized systematically. These methods include directional alignment, functionalization and synergistic enhancement. We believe these recent advances will provide useful reference for researchers.
