Advances of CNT-based systems in thermal management

Effective thermal management has become extremely urgent for electronics due to the massive heat originated from the ever-rising power density. With the merits of high thermal conductivity, good chemical stability and desirable mechanical properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered to have great potential to be widely used in heat dissipation devices. This article describes the progress on thermal conductivity of CNT-reinforced composites, aligned CNT materials (aligned CNT arrays, films/buckypapers and fibers) as high thermal conductors, experimental and theoretical results of CNT-substrate interface resistance, and utilizations of CNTs in the passive heat dissipation (natural convection, heat radiation, and phase-change heat transfer). Finally, the challenges and prospects are discussed to provide some hints in the future studies. It is believed that CNTs can play an important role in thermal management of electronics, especially in the portable electronic devices.