Achieving exceptional mechanical and thermal properties in <scp>ABS</scp>/<scp>MWCNTs</scp> nanocomposites with minimal <scp>CNT</scp> loading via electromechanical dispersion technique

Abstract This research aims to decrease the concentration of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) needed for enhancing the mechanical and thermal properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)/CNTs nanocomposites using the recently introduced electromechanically dispersion technique (EMDT). EMDT efficiently disperses CNTs' agglomerations, preventing structural damage. Nanocomposites with various CNT concentrations were produced with EMDT, followed by injection molding to provide tensile strength, thermal conductivity, and impact resistance samples. Raman and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) assessed CNT dispersion, revealing successful dispersion up to 0.2 wt% without structural damage. At this concentration, the tensile strength improved to 47.08 MPa, showing an increase of approximately 17.5%, and the thermal conductivity significantly increased to 0.29 W/mK, reflecting a 46% improvement. These results surpass those achieved by traditional dispersion methods, where 10 times the CNT concentration was required to reach similar enhancements. Higher injection temperatures and holding pressures improved CNT alignment and reduced entanglement, enhancing properties. However, no additional improvements were observed beyond 0.2 wt%. These findings highlight EMDT's potential in creating high‐performance nanocomposites with significantly lower CNT concentrations. Highlights Utilization of the novel EMDT dispersion method in nanocomposite preparation. Overcoming hindrances to commercializing CNT‐based polymeric nanocomposites. Reducing the required CNT concentration to attain significant properties. Improving tensile strength of ABS by ~17.5% with just 0.2 wt% of CNTs. Remarkable 48.4% increase in ABS thermal conductivity with just 0.2 wt% of CNTs.