Structural Design Strategies for Thermally Conductive and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Nanocomposites

A Scientific Perspective

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55747/bjedis.v4i1.67562

Abstract

The development of thermally conductive and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding nanocomposites is becoming increasingly critical for next-generation electronic devices, where effective heat dissipation and high signal integrity are essential. This report summarizes a talk by Professor Sung-Ryong Kim from the Korea National University of Transportation, emphasizing structural design strategies—such as layered architectures, segregated structures, three-dimensional (3D) interconnected networks, and stretching-induced alignment—to enhance both thermal conductivity and EMI shielding effectiveness in polymer-based nanocomposites.

By integrating nanofillers such as graphene fluoride (GF), MXene, and carbon nanotubes, Professor Kim’s work highlights how rational structural design can yield ultrathin films with thermal conductivity values up to 210 W/m·K and EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) reaching 62 dB under optimal filler contents. The strategies address not only GHz and THz frequency shielding demands but also practical industry concerns like cost, scalability, and mechanical robustness.

Reflecting on potential future directions, Professor Kim underscored the promise of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to expedite predictive material optimization, and he expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with computational scientists to guide advanced composites research. This convergence of data-driven modeling, sustainable polymer matrices, and industrial manufacturing constraints points the way to commercializable, high-performance thermoconductive EMI shielding solutions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Sung-Ryong Kim, Department of Polymer Science & Engineering; Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju, South Korea

Professor Sung-Ryong Kim is a distinguished researcher in polymer science and engineering, specializing in thermally conductive and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding nanocomposites. With a strong background in materials science, polymer nanocomposites, and surface treatment technologies, his research has significantly contributed to the development of advanced functional materials for electronic and industrial applications.

He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Utah, USA, in 1993, under the supervision of Professor John A. Nairn, after completing his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at Korea University, South Korea, in 1987. Since 2002, he has been a professor at the Korea National University of Transportation (KNUT), South Korea, where he has held several leadership roles, including Dean of the College of Engineering and Director of the KNUT Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centers. Before transitioning to academia, he spent nearly a decade in industry as Group Leader of Polymeric Materials at Samyang Research & Development Center, a leading South Korean chemical company specializing in high-performance polymeric materials.

Professor Kim's research primarily focuses on high-performance polymer nanocomposites, particularly those incorporating graphene fluoride, MXene, carbon nanotubes, and functional polymers. His work has led to groundbreaking advancements in thermal management materials, EMI shielding composites for GHz and THz applications, advanced adhesion and interface engineering for electronics and coatings, and flexible/stretchable nanocomposites for wearable devices. One of his most notable contributions includes the development of ultrathin graphene fluoride-based films with thermal conductivity values reaching 210 W/m·K, setting a new benchmark for heat dissipation materials in electronic applications. His research findings have been widely published in high-impact journals such as Carbon, Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Composites Science and Technology, and Macromolecular Research.

In recognition of his scientific contributions, he has received several prestigious awards, including the Best Paper Award from the Polymer Society of Korea and multiple Best Poster Awards from the Adhesion and Interface Society of Korea. His industry collaborations have been acknowledged through the Citation for Industrial Cooperation from the Korean Ministry of Education and the University-Industry Partnership Award. Additionally, he has been listed in Marquis Who’s Who since 2017.

Currently, Professor Kim's research extends beyond experimental work to the integration of artificial intelligence-driven material design, bio-based polymer matrices, and scalable production techniques for next-generation EMI shielding and thermal management solutions. His interdisciplinary approach and international collaborations position him as a key figure in advancing polymer nanocomposites, electronics, and energy-efficient materials. Through his leadership and innovation, he continues to push the boundaries of materials science, paving the way for future advancements in sustainable and high-performance nanomaterials.

Fernando Gomes de Souza Junior, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Associate (III) Prof. Fernando Gomes: Expertise focused in the use of renewable resources and nanocomposites in sensors, drug delivery and environmental recovery. Coordination of more than ten research projects with financial support from Brazilian government sponsoring agencies. Published 160 scientific articles plus 13 accepted for publication during 2021. Published 8 books. Among them,3 chemistry books in Portuguese and 3 books about Biopolymers in English. He has published more than two hundred papers in Conferences and Scientific meetings. Co-convener of the Sixth International Conference on Natural Polymers, Biopolymers and biomaterials: Applications from macro to nanoscale (http://www.biopolymers.macromol.in/), Chairman of the Fifth International Conference on Natural Polymers, Biopolymers and biomaterials: Applications from macro to nanoscale (https://www.icnp2017rio.com/) and Chaiman of the 1st Brazilian Conference on Design of Experiments and Data Analysis (https://sites.google.com/pent.coppe.ufrj.br/conbrapa2020). Supervisor of 128 undergraduate students; 29 M.Sc. students, 14 Ph.D. students and 6 Post Doc. Nowadays I am the supervisor of 11 undergraduate students; 7 M.Sc. students, 10 Ph.D. students and 3 Post Doc. Associate Editor of the MedCrave Online Journal (MOJ) Polymer Science (ISSN: 2574-9773) since 2017. Editor of the Academic Journal of Polymer Science (ISSN: 2641-8282), since 2018. Member of the Editorial Board of Composite Interfaces (ISSN: 0927-6440), since 2021. Member of the editorial board of Current Applied Polymer Science (ISSN 2452-2716) since 2016 and Editor-in-Chief of Current Applied Polymer Science (ISSN 2452-2716) since 2020. Professor Gomes has founded the Brazilian Journal of Experimental Design, Data Analysis and Inferential Statistics in 2021, acting as its 1st Editor-in-Chief. Awardedtwice as Young Scientist of Rio de Janeiro State (FAPERJ 2011 and 2014), Chair Professorship on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - Mahatma Gandhi University – India (2018), member of Post Graduate Program in Science and Technology of Polymers of the Macromolecules Institute / Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) since 2008, member of Post Graduate Program in Civil Engineering (COPPE/UFRJ) between 2015-2019 and member of Post Graduate Program in Nanotechnology (COPPE/UFRJ) since 2019.

Fabiola Maranhão, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Viviane Valadão, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Carolina Delfino, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Daniele Brandão, COPPE UFRJ

-

Gabriel Silva, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Bruna Tebaldi, COPPE UFRJ

-

Suelen Cunha, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Luis Escobar, COPPE UFRJ

-

Thiago Peçanha, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Raynara Santos, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Jean Dutra, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

Jessica Cardoso, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano / UFRJ

-

References

1. Vu, M. C., Thieu, N. a. T., Lim, J., Choi, W., Won, J. C., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2019). Ultrathin thermally conductive yet electrically insulating exfoliated graphene fluoride film for high performance heat dissipation. Carbon, 157, 741–749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2019.10.079

2. Vu, M. C., Park, P. J., Bae, S., Kim, S. Y., Kang, Y., Choi, W. K., Islam, M. A., Won, J. C., Park, M., & Kim, S. (2021). Scalable ultrarobust thermoconductive nonflammable bioinspired papers of graphene nanoplatelet crosslinked aramid nanofibers for thermal management and electromagnetic shielding. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 9(13), 8527–8540. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ta12306d

3. Vu, M. C., Mani, D., Jeong, T., Kim, J., Lim, C., Kang, H., Islam, M. A., Lee, O., Park, P. J., & Kim, S. (2021). Nacre-inspired nanocomposite papers of graphene fluoride integrated 3D aramid nanofibers towards heat-dissipating applications. Chemical Engineering Journal, 429, 132182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.132182

4. Vu, M. C., Kim, I., Choi, W. K., Lim, C., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2020). Highly flexible Graphene derivative hybrid Film: an outstanding nonflammable thermally conductive yet electrically insulating material for efficient thermal management. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12(23), 26413–26423. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c02427

5. Anand, S., Vu, M. C., Mani, D., Kim, J., Jeong, T., Choi, W., Won, J., & Kim, S. (2024). A continuous interfacial bridging approach to fabricate ultrastrong hydroxylated carbon nanotubes intercalated MXene films with superior electromagnetic interference shielding and thermal dissipating properties. Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-024-00842-5

6. Vu, M. C., Mani, D., Kim, J., Jeong, T., Park, S., Murali, G., In, I., Won, J., Losic, D., Lim, C., & Kim, S. (2021). Hybrid shell of MXene and reduced graphene oxide assembled on PMMA bead core towards tunable thermoconductive and EMI shielding nanocomposites. Composites Part a Applied Science and Manufacturing, 149, 106574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2021.106574

7. Vu, M. C., Jeong, T., Kim, J., Choi, W. K., Kim, D. H., & Kim, S. (2020). 3D printing of copper particles and poly(methyl methacrylate) beads containing poly(lactic acid) composites for enhancing thermomechanical properties. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 138(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/app.49776

8. Doan, V. C., Vu, M. C., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2018). Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐functionalized reduced graphene oxide‐based core–shell structured beads for thermally conductive epoxy composites. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 136(9). https://doi.org/10.1002/app.47377

9. Vu, M. C., Bae, Y. H., Yu, M. J., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2018). Core-shell structured carbon nanotube-poly(methylmethacrylate) beads as thermo-conductive filler in epoxy composites. Composites Part a Applied Science and Manufacturing, 109, 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2018.02.021

10. Bae, Y., Yu, M., Vu, M. C., Choi, W. K., & Kim, S. (2017). Synergistic effects of segregated network by polymethylmethacrylate beads and sintering of copper nanoparticles on thermal and electrical properties of epoxy composites. Composites Science and Technology, 155, 144–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2017.11.021

11. Thieu, N. a. T., Mani, D., Won, J. C., Yon, K., Vu, M. C., & Kim, S. (2022). Vertically interconnected network of graphene fluoride for highly thermoconductive and electrically insulating epoxy composites. Polymer Composites, 43(11), 8050–8059. https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.26946

12. Thieu, N. a. T., Vu, M. C., Kim, D. H., Choi, W. K., & Kim, S. (2020). Effect of aspect ratio of vertically aligned copper nanowires in the presence of cellulaose nanofibers on the thermal conductivity of epoxy composites. Polymers for Advanced Technologies, 31(10), 2351–2359. https://doi.org/10.1002/pat.4954

13. Vu, M. C., Choi, W., Lee, S. G., Park, P. J., Kim, D. H., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2020). High Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Polymer Composites with Vertically Aligned Silicon Carbide Sheet Scaffolds. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12(20), 23388–23398. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c02421

14. Anand, S., Vu, M. C., Mani, D., Kim, J., Jeong, T., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2023). Dual 3D networks of graphene derivatives based polydimethylsiloxane composites for electrical insulating electronic packaging materials with outstanding electromagnetic interference shielding and thermal dissipation performances. Chemical Engineering Journal, 462, 142017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.142017

15. Mani, D., Vu, M. C., Jeong, T., Kim, J., Lim, C., Lim, J., Kim, K., & Kim, S. (2021). 3D structured graphene fluoride-based epoxy composites with high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation. Composites Part a Applied Science and Manufacturing, 149, 106585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2021.106585

16. Vu, M. C., Thieu, N. a. T., Choi, W. K., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2020). Ultralight covalently interconnected silicon carbide aerofoam for high performance thermally conductive epoxy composites. Composites Part a Applied Science and Manufacturing, 138, 106028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.106028

17. Doan, V. C., Vu, M. C., Thieu, N. a. T., Islam, M. A., Park, P. J., & Kim, S. (2019). Copper flake-coated cellulose scaffold to construct segregated network for enhancing thermal conductivity of epoxy composites. Composites Part B Engineering, 165, 772–778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.02.015

18. Mani, D., Vu, M. C., Lim, C., Kim, J., Jeong, T., Kim, H. J., Islam, M. A., Lim, J., Kim, K., & Kim, S. (2022). Stretching induced alignment of graphene nanoplatelets in polyurethane films for superior in-plane thermal conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding. Carbon, 201, 568–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2022.09.047

19. Mani, D., Vu, M. C., Anand, S., Kim, J., Jeong, T., Kim, I., Seo, B. K., Islam, M. A., & Kim, S. (2023). Elongated liquid metal based self-healing polyurethane composites for tunable thermal conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding. Composites Communications, 44, 101735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coco.2023.101735

Downloads

Published

2025-07-25

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 > >>