Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets: Fabrication, thermal properties and application in polymers

Traditional thermally conductive materials are gradually losing their advantages as the electronics industry develops rapidly. Polymers are in urgent need of a material with high thermal conductivity, stable structure, good mechanical properties and oxidation resistance, which makes hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) an excellent heat transfer filler for polymer composites. Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) are monolayers of hexagonal boron nitride, and theoretical studies have shown that BNNS have a higher thermal conductivity than h-BN (up to 400 Wm−1K−1, in-plane). This paper provides a comprehensive review of various methods for preparing BNNS, including mechanical exfoliation, liquid phase sonication exfoliation and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In addition, various factors affecting the thermal conductivity of BNNS, including grain boundary, grain size and defects, are also discussed. Then, the influence of BNNS as filler on the thermal conductivity of the polymer was further discussed. Finally, this paper summarizes the existing BNNS applications and lists the application scenarios of BNNS in various fields. The purpose of this review is to summarize the previous work and put forward the prospect and future development direction of preparing high thermal conductivity BNNS-included polymer composites, so as to stimulate the research and improvement of new preparation methods for BNNS and promote its practical application as heat transfer materials.