High shear mechanochemical treatment enables multifunctional CNT polycarbonate nanocomposites

High shear mechanochemical treatment enables multifunctional CNT polycarbonate nanocomposites | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article High shear mechanochemical treatment enables multifunctional CNT polycarbonate nanocomposites Xiao Su, Seung Ho Lee, Nikki Stanford, Yangzhe Hou, Jiabin Dai, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9035966/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mechanochemical treatment can offer a sustainable, solvent-free approach for developing polymer nanocomposites by activating and dispersing nanofillers through mechanical energy instead of chemical reagents. Mechanochemical treatment enhances interfacial interactions, minimises structural damage and enables scalable processing of multifunctional materials. In this work, a solvent-free mechanochemical strategy was developed to address the entanglement and agglomeration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in polycarbonate (PC) matrices. We compared two distinct mechanochemical approaches: (i) conventional impact-driven ball milling and (ii) a shear-dominated kitchen-blender process. Both methods effectively disentangled CNT bundles to varying degrees. During disentanglement, polycarbonate (PC) powder was introduced, enabling uniform coating of CNTs onto PC particles; this experimental design prevented CNT re-agglomerating during drying and ensured stable dispersion throughout the subsequent melt-compounding process. Structural and morphological analyses confirmed that the blender method achieved the most effective disentanglement with minimal defect generation. Consequently, the resulting PC/KBCNT nanocomposites exhibited outstanding multifunctional properties, including a 35% increase in tensile strength (88.6 MPa), 77% higher thermal conductivity, ten orders of magnitude lower resistivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness up to 24.2 dB at 20 wt % CNT loading. This work demonstrates that high-shear mechanochemistry provides a scalable and environmentally benign route to develop high-performance polymer/CNT nanocomposites with structure–property relationships. polycarbonate carbon nanotubes solvent-free mechanochemistry modification electromagnetic interference mechanical property Full Text Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. JUN MA is a member of the Editorial Board of this journal; however, he had no involvement in the peer review process, editorial decision, or acceptance of this manuscript. The review process was handled independently in accordance with the journal’s standard procedures to ensure objectivity and fairness. The authors affirm that this manuscript is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under consideration for publication in any other journal. All findings and interpretations presented in this work are the result of objective scientific analysis. Supplementary Files Supplementarymaterial.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 04 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9035966","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":622226048,"identity":"57b3d348-37c4-4614-8239-60662b779aa4","order_by":0,"name":"Xiao Su","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adelaide University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiao","middleName":"","lastName":"Su","suffix":""},{"id":622226049,"identity":"2e5be3e7-8104-4672-965b-5abfd5a5ae67","order_by":1,"name":"Seung Ho Lee","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adelaide University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Seung","middleName":"Ho","lastName":"Lee","suffix":""},{"id":622226050,"identity":"2dfe3d88-d91d-4cc4-8705-48934213e2f1","order_by":2,"name":"Nikki Stanford","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adelaide University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nikki","middleName":"","lastName":"Stanford","suffix":""},{"id":622226051,"identity":"b8818d89-6d30-4228-898d-3b934ff94fb0","order_by":3,"name":"Yangzhe Hou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adelaide University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yangzhe","middleName":"","lastName":"Hou","suffix":""},{"id":622226052,"identity":"bb002cb9-265b-42f6-be2f-450fdafaee16","order_by":4,"name":"Jiabin Dai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adelaide University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiabin","middleName":"","lastName":"Dai","suffix":""},{"id":622226053,"identity":"d3404631-5bc9-4722-ba3d-a4e185253ef5","order_by":5,"name":"Qingshi Meng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shenyang Aerospace University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qingshi","middleName":"","lastName":"Meng","suffix":""},{"id":622226054,"identity":"956e1620-f1fa-4d01-95ab-94f36eba10fd","order_by":6,"name":"Hsu-Chiang Kuan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hsu-Chiang","middleName":"","lastName":"Kuan","suffix":""},{"id":622226055,"identity":"f44fe63c-e396-4c42-b57d-a8a20b9f925b","order_by":7,"name":"Jun Ma","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYGBmYeBhsehgPMDQwJbCCxBPxaGEFa5jCkyTEcYCRFyx+Gw8ZgLQxEaZmRe4A5p+Z8Yt/xxsYPD8psGPjZcwwYfrbh05KXwJxz7HbizDMHmyUSzqUxSPa8MWDsxaslx4A5h+124oYbiQ0SiW2HGQxuAG3hJaSF59+5+g33Hzb/SGz7z2AP1ML4F48WQZAW3rYDQFsY24C2HGAwkACL4NYizfPG4DBvXzLQL4ltFgnnknkkzjwrOCxzDrcWPvYcw8c83+yAIXb48M0fZXZy/O3JGx++KcOtBQQOIHN4MERGwSgYBaNgFJAOAClXWFrJHPxCAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Adelaide University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jun","middleName":"","lastName":"Ma","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-05 05:08:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9035966/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9035966/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106961990,"identity":"b1aec24e-a86b-4c97-92db-822c58c7757a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 09:28:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":610413,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AdvancedCompositesandHybridMaterials.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9035966/v1_covered_84d3132b-6f8b-4370-b5ec-fc79d23434a3.pdf"},{"id":106956109,"identity":"c25215e8-b324-4747-bd86-daae37e9efe1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 08:22:28","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":335370,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supplementarymaterial.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9035966/v1/b6452229069e900208b2f01c.docx"}],"financialInterests":"Competing interest reported. 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Mechanochemical treatment enhances interfacial interactions, minimises structural damage and enables scalable processing of multifunctional materials. In this work, a solvent-free mechanochemical strategy was developed to address the entanglement and agglomeration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in polycarbonate (PC) matrices. We compared two distinct mechanochemical approaches: (i) conventional impact-driven ball milling and (ii) a shear-dominated kitchen-blender process. Both methods effectively disentangled CNT bundles to varying degrees. During disentanglement, polycarbonate (PC) powder was introduced, enabling uniform coating of CNTs onto PC particles; this experimental design prevented CNT re-agglomerating during drying and ensured stable dispersion throughout the subsequent melt-compounding process. Structural and morphological analyses confirmed that the blender method achieved the most effective disentanglement with minimal defect generation. 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