Engineering Electrical and Thermal Attributes of Two-Dimensional Graphene Reinforced Copper/Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites for Smart Electronics

Rising demands for reliable thermally and electrically conductive and stable, lightweight, and mechanically enduring materials in architecting smart electronics have accelerated the research in engineering metal-matrix composites (MMCs). Amongst all, copper (Cu) and aluminium (Al) based MMCs are popular owing to high electrical conductivity, but large heat dissipation in compact electronic gadgets is still challenging. The reinforcement of Cu/Al with graphene caters to problems of heat dissipation, strengthens mechanical endurance, and optimizes electronic and thermal conductivities as per the device architect and application. The present report systematically reviews the state-of-the-art Cu/Al MMCs using graphene reinforcement with enhanced electrical, thermal and mechanical attributes for smart electronics manufacturing. It discusses the fundamentals for optimising the electrical and thermal charge transport in Cu/Al MMCs through graphene reinforcement. Besides it discusses challenges, alternate solutions, and advanced prospects of graphene reinforced Cu/Al MMCs for smart electronics manufacturing.