Thermal Transport in Polymers: A Review
Abstract
In this article, we review thermal transport in polymers with different morphologies from aligned fibers to bulk amorphous states. We survey early and recent efforts in engineering polymers with high thermal conductivity by fabricating polymers with large-scale molecular alignments. The experimentally realized extremely high thermal conductivity of polymer nanofibers is highlighted, and understanding of thermal transport physics is discussed. We then transition to the discussion of bulk amorphous polymers with an emphasis on the physics of thermal transport and its relation with the conformation of molecular chains in polymers. We also discuss the current understanding of how the chemistry of polymers would influence thermal transport in amorphous polymers and some limited, but important chemistry-structure-property relationships. Lastly, challenges, perspectives, and outlook of this field are presented. We hope this review will inspire more fundamental and applied research in the polymer thermal transport field to advance scientific understanding and engineering applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Apr 22, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1115/1.4050557
Entities
People
- Tengfei Luo
- Xingfei Wei
- Zhi Wang
- Zhiting Tian
Organizations
- 3M
- American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund
- Army Research Office
- Cornell University
- DuPont
- National Science Foundation
- University of Notre Dame