Advances in Intrinsically High Thermal Conductive Liquid Crystal Epoxy Resins

Epoxy resins are becoming increasingly used as thermal management materials in the electrical and electronics field. The low intrinsic thermal conductivity of epoxy resins makes it challenging to meet the requirements for effective heat dissipation in devices, and filling with large numbers of thermally conductive inorganic fillers will damage other properties of the material. Researchers have focused on introducing highly ordered structural units into cross-linked networks to improve the intrinsic thermal conductivity of epoxy resins. This paper reviews the progress of research on intrinsically high thermal conductivity liquid crystal epoxy resins (LCERs). Firstly, the thermal conductivity mechanism of epoxy resins is described in summary. In this study, the innovative strategies were reviewed for constructing the phonon transport network (such as molecular structure design of LCERs, selection of curing agents, forming method and process, etc.), providing an effective reference for the preparation of epoxy resins with excellent thermal conductivity. Finally, the applications of LCERs were introduced, the existing bottlenecks in current research were analyzed, and future research directions were proposed. This study aimed at providing a brand-new perspective and a clear roadmap for the design of the next generation of high-performance thermal management materials.