Pool boiling is an efficient phase change heat transfer method with important applications in energy, electronic heat dissipation, and industrial cooling. In recent years, carbon materials have attracted much attention in the study of enhanced pool boiling performance due to their high thermal conductivity, large specific surface area, tunable surface properties, and excellent chemical stability. This paper provides a systematic review of the key effects and research progress of carbon-based materials in enhancing the heat transfer of pool boiling. The analysis focuses on the regulation mechanism of carbon material microstructure (e.g., nanoroughness, multilevel porosity, and surface wettability) on critical heat flux and the heat transfer coefficient. The analysis also reveals the intrinsic laws of carbon materials that enhance boiling performance by promoting bubble nucleation and accelerating or delaying film boiling. It summarizes the latest results of surface modifications, such as carbon-based composite coatings, micro- and nanostructured surface constructions, and hydrophilic-hydrophobic synergistic modifications, and explores their potential applications in scenarios such as the thermal management of electronic devices. This paper provides a systematic review of the key effects and research progress of carbon-based materials in enhancing the heat transfer of pool boiling. The policy applicability of the related technologies was evaluated, and it was pointed out that they have significant advantages in improving equipment energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact, and are a promising direction for low-carbon heat dissipation technology. The distinguishing characteristic of this review is its holistic approach, which consolidates recent experimental advances in carbon-material-enhanced pool boiling and critically evaluates their technological readiness, sustainability challenges, and alignment with global energy policies. This perspective is frequently overlooked in extant literature.
Ji et al. (Sun,) studied this question.