J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 250: 83-97.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.06.032

• Research article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Mitigation of interfacial thermal resistance in thermally conductive composite materials through optimization of phonon transport pathway

Rui Chena,b, Yageng Baib, Yuxuan Gub, Yuqing Zoua, Shijian Liuc, Ling Wangc, Haipeng Qiuc, Zhongke Yuana,*, Zetong Maa, Cheng Wanga, Jianxin Mub,*, Xudong Chena,d   

  1. aSchool of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China;
    bKey Laboratory of High Performance Plastics, Ministry of Education, National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Synthesis Technology of High Performance Polymer, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China;
    cAVIC Manufacturing Technology Institute, Beijing 101300, China;
    dGuangdong Laboratory of Chemistry and Fine Chemical Engineering Jieyang Center, Jieyang 515200, China
  • Received:2025-05-13 Revised:2025-06-24 Accepted:2025-06-24 Published:2026-04-10 Online:2025-07-18
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: yzk@gdut.edu.cn (Z. Yuan), mazt@gdut.edu.cn (Z. Ma), Jianxin_mu@jlu.edu.cn (J. Mu).

Abstract: Lightweight polymer composites with superior processability address thermal management and electromagnetic interference (EMI) in high-power electronics, particularly for energy and aerospace applications. In this work, we report a polyether ether ketone (PEEK) based composite with a polyurethane foam template that utilizes polybenzoxazine (PBZ) modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) to establish continuous conductive networks through resin infusion, denoted as r(MWCNTs&GnPs)@PBZ/PEEK. The architecture enables optimized phonon transport and electron tunneling dual enhancement via interconnected fillers, thereby boosting thermal conductivity (TC) and EMI shielding. The composite with a filler loading of 27.8 wt.% exhibited pronounced anisotropic TC, attaining values of 4.83 (through-plane) and 6.33 W m-1 K-1 (in-plane), exceeding pristine PEEK by 2000 % and 2650 %, respectively. Simultaneously, it has a total exceptional EMI shielding performance of 106.72 dB, corresponding to 99.999999997 % total shielding efficiency. The strategy provides ideas for the construction of conductive networks in polymer composites.

Key words: 3D transfer network, Thermal conductivity, Electromagnetic shielding, Interfacial thermal resistance