At present, the rapid accumulation of heat and the heat dissipation of electronic equipment and related components are important reasons that restrict the miniaturization, high integration, and high power of electronic equipment. It seriously affects the performance and life of electronic devices. Hence, improving the thermal conductivity of polymer composites (TCPCs) is the key to solving this problem. Compared with manufacturing intrinsic thermally conductive polymer composites, the method of filling the polymer matrix with thermally conductive fillers can better-enhance the thermal conductivity (λ) of the composites. This review starts from the thermal conduction mechanism and describes the factors affecting the λ of polymer composites, including filler type, filler morphology and distribution, and the functional surface treatment of fillers. Next, we introduce the preparation methods of filled thermally conductive polymer composites with different filler types. In addition, some commonly used thermal-conductivity theoretical models have been introduced to better-analyze the thermophysical properties of polymer composites. We discuss the simulation of λ and the thermal conduction process of polymer composites based on molecular dynamics and finite element analysis methods. Meanwhile, we briefly introduce the application of polymer composites in thermal management. Finally, we outline the challenges and prospects of TCPCs.

A water contact angle greater than 150° together with a sliding angle less than 10° is a special surface phenomenon that appears on superhydrophobic surfaces. In this paper, a brief introduction of the development history and present research on superhydrophobic surfaces was given. Polymeric superhydrophobic surfaces with biomimetic hierarchical roughness were fabricated by a simple method of hot embossing without any chemical treatments. Stainless steel meshes with different mesh numbers were used as template. Moreover, the influences of processing parameters, including mesh number, mold temperature, and pressure, were deeply investigated. Hierarchical microplatforms, microfibers, and oriented arrayed nanowrinkles structure on them, which were resembled with the nanowrinkles structure and hierarchical roughness on a red rose petal, were observed by a scanning electron microscope. A water contact angle of 154° can be achieved after parameter optimization. The method proposed in this study offered a fine and affordable choice for the fabrication of polymeric superhydrophobic surfaces. With the rapid development of functional applications in micro- and nanodevices, this method will show greater superiority in large-area and large-scale production due to its advantages of low cost, high efficiency, and high reliability.