Mechanistic Structure-Property Relationships in Carbon/Polymer Composites: Connectivity, Junction Resistance, and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Composites
• Nanomaterials

Background:

• Carbon/polymer composites are engineered for multifunctionality, including mechanical reinforcement, electrical/thermal transport, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and sensing.
• Material performance is dictated by network topology, junction resistance, and interfacial thermal resistance, influenced by processing conditions, rather than solely filler content.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review structure-processing-property relationships in carbon/polymer composites.
• To provide application-driven design rules for sensors, EMI shielding, and thermal management.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of electrical and thermal transport mechanisms, including percolation theory and Kapitza resistance.
• Examination of advanced carbon architectures (hybrid, 3D) and scalable manufacturing routes (masterbatch extrusion, additive manufacturing).
• Consolidation of mechanistic understanding of structure-processing-property relationships.

Main Results:

• Electrical conductivity exhibits nonlinear behavior near the percolation threshold, enabling high piezoresistive sensitivity.
• Thermal transport is often limited by interfacial and junction resistances, hindering the full potential of carbon nanomaterials.
• Hybrid and 3D carbon architectures improve connectivity and reduce losses, allowing for programmable anisotropy.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing carbon/polymer composites requires coupled control over microstructure, processing, and interfaces.
• Scalable manufacturing routes are advancing, but challenges in dispersion, durability, and transport-toughness trade-offs remain.
• This review offers design principles for enhanced composite performance in sensing, EMI shielding, and thermal management.