Dramatic Effects of Scalable SNN‐Assisted Melt Dispersion on Thermal Conductivity and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Nanocomposites

It is demonstrated that SNN‐assisted melt dispersion can lead to a significant improvement of the thermal conductivity of PC/MWCNT composites accompanied by a dramatic reduction in their linear CTE. The thermal conductivity of the SNN‐containing composites after the 2‐step process was about 95% higher than that of neat PC and 25% higher than that from 1‐step processing at same loading. The CTE below the glass‐transition temperature of composites with a 1.0 wt.‐% MWCNT loading is substantially reduced compared to the neat polymer. A reduction in the CTE of up to 60.8% is observed for composites from the 2‐step process. Simultaneous achievement of high thermal conductivity and low CTE is required for electronic packaging in microelectronics for device protection.