Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Polymers Using Carbide Fillers

Efficient thermal management has emerged as a critical challenge in modern materials science as continued device miniaturization and increasing power densities lead to heat accumulation that degrades performance and reliability. Polymer composites are widely employed in electronic packaging and thermal interface materials due to their lightweight nature, mechanical compliance, ease of processing, and cost effectiveness. However, the intrinsically low thermal conductivity of polymers severely limits their heat dissipation capability, necessitating the incorporation of thermally conductive fillers. Driven by their high intrinsic thermal conductivity, excellent thermal stability, high room-temperature resistivity, and robust mechanical strength, carbide ceramic fillers have been widely incorporated into polymers. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in carbide-based polymer composites, with a particular focus on silicon carbide, titanium carbide, and tungsten carbide, addressing the lack of a dedicated and systematic analysis of carbide-filled polymer systems. The effects of filler chemistry, morphology, loading, dispersion, and interfacial engineering on thermal transport are discussed, together with structure-property relationships governing thermal conductivity enhancement. In addition, the industrial readiness and scalability of carbide-filled polymer composites are evaluated in the context of processing compatibility and application requirements. Last, key challenges and future research directions are identified to guide the development and real-world deployment of high-performance thermally conductive polymer composites.