Boron nitride based polymer nanocomposites for heat dissipation and thermal management applications

Meteoric breakthroughs in the integration and shrinkage of electronic devices in the last few years made thermal management a critical issue affecting the lifetime, performance, and reliability of those devices. Boron nitride (BN) based polymer nanocomposites are emerging materials handling thermal management in electronic, optoelectronic, and photonic devices. These composites help to maintain the devices in their operating temperature range by facilitating proper dissipation of excessive heat. The high thermal conductivity (TC) and electrical insulating properties make BN nanomaterials an ideal filler in polymer nanocomposites for thermal management. This article provides a comprehensive review of BN/polymer nanocomposites for heat dissipation and thermal management applications. Synthesis routes of BN and BN based nanocomposites in recent years are discussed along with the thermal conduction mechanism of the polymers, correlating from the ideas of crystalline and amorphous materials. Furthermore, several theoretical modeling of thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites established in the past years has been discussed thoroughly. Most importantly, we addressed crucial factors influencing the TC of the BN/polymer nanocomposites such as polymer morphology, filler morphology, filler functionalization, the orientation of polymer and filler, and filler-matrix interfaces. Finally, this review elucidated current thermal conductivity measurement methods, followed by key BN/polymer nanocomposites applications for thermal management applications.