MXene ‐ MWCNTs Hybrid Reinforced PA6 Nanocomposites for Electronic Packaging Applications

Abstract

ABSTRACT MXene is considered a promising 2D material for advanced thermal management, flexible electronics, and conductive polymer nanocomposites due to its high electrical conductivity, layered morphology, and tunable surface chemistry. In the present work, various MXene‐based hybrid fillers were prepared by functionalizing Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in different ratios, namely M4C1, M2C1, and M1C1. The complete structural and microstructural characterization was performed to confirm the successful formation of the hybrids and to study the effect of the filler composition on the electrical transport properties. The MXene–MWCNTs hybrids showed the formation of a 3D interconnecting network between the MXene sheets and the MWCNTs. The charge transport behavior of the hybrid powders was affected by the existence of multiple contact interfaces. Moreover, the optimized hybrid filler (M4C1) was incorporated into a polyamide‐6 (PA6) matrix to prepare PA6–M4C1 nanocomposites. Structural analysis revealed that the semi‐crystalline nature of PA6 was preserved after incorporation of the MXene–MWCNTs hybrid filler; however, the degree of crystallinity was slightly decreased. The PA6–M4C1 nanocomposite showed a considerable increase in electrical conductivity due to the formation of a 3D interconnecting conductive network, which was enabled by the MWCNTs bridging in the polymer matrix. PA6‐based nanocomposites are widely applied in fields such as prevention of electrostatic discharge in electronic packaging, but also show potential for enhanced multifunctional performance. The present study shows that the MXene–MWCNTs hybrid systems are promising materials for the development of electrically conductive polymer nanocomposites for advanced electronic packaging applications.