Electrical,rheological and electromagnetic interference shielding properties of thermoplastic polyurethane/carbon nanotube composites

Electrically conducting rubbery composites based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared through melt blending using a torque rheometer equipped with a mixing chamber. The electrical conductivity, morphology, rheological properties and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the TPU/CNT composites were evaluated and also compared with those of carbon black (CB)‐filled TPU composites prepared under the same processing conditions. For both polymer systems, the insulator–conductor transition was very sharp and the electrical percolation threshold at room temperature was at CNT and CB contents of about 1.0 and 1.7 wt%, respectively. The EMI SE over the X‐band frequency range (8–12 GHz) for TPU/CNT and TPU/CB composites was investigated as a function of filler content. EMI SE and electrical conductivity increased with increasing amount of conductive filler, due to the formation of conductive pathways in the TPU matrix. TPU/CNT composites displayed higher electrical conductivity and EMI SE than TPU/CB composites with similar conductive filler content. EMI SE values found for TPU/CNT and TPU/CB composites containing 10 and 15 wt% conductive fillers, respectively, were in the range ?22 to ?20 dB, indicating that these composites are promising candidates for shielding applications. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Substantially improving mechanical property of double percolated poly(phenylene sulfide)/poly(arylenesulfide sulfone)/graphene nanoplates composites with superior electromagnetic interference shielding performance

The electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) can be conspicuously enhanced at low conductive filler contents with the formation of segregated structure in the conductive polymer composites (CPCs). Nevertheless, poor interface adhesion of segregated composites results in poor mechanical properties due to the selective distribution of conductive fillers. In this work, a flexible approach was applied to fabricate the poly(phenylene sulfide)/poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)/graphene nanoplates (GNPs) composite with a unique double percolated structure. This composite exhibits an outstanding EMI SE of 38.8 dB with only 3 wt % GNPs, which is comparable to that of the conventional segregated structure counterpart. What is more, the tensile strength and Young's modulus of double percolated composites with 3 wt % GNPs are remarkably improved by ~892 and ~274% compared to conventional segregated structure, achieving 37.7 and 1788.3 MPa, respectively. This work provides a valuable method for producing CPCs with high EMI shielding performances and outstanding mechanical properties. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 137, 48709.     

Strong and Flexible Carbon Fiber Fabric Reinforced Thermoplastic Polyurethane Composites for High‐Performance EMI Shielding Applications

Electromagnetic shielding materials play a significant role in solving the increasing environmental problem of electromagnetic pollutions. The commonly used metal‐based electromagnetic materials suffer from high density, poor corrosion resistance, and high processing cost. Polymer composites exhibit unique combined properties of lightweight, good shock absorption, and corrosion resistance. In this study, a novel high angle sensitive composite is fabricated by combining carbon fiber (CF) fabric with thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU). The effect of stacking angle of CF fabric on EMI shielding performance of composite is studied. When the stacking angle of CF fabric changed, the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of CF fabric/TPU composite can reach a maximum of 73 dB, and the tensile strength can reach 168 MPa. In addition, the composite has anisotropic conductivity, which is conductive along the plane direction and nonconductive along the thickness direction. Moreover, the CF fabric/TPU composite manifests exceptional EMI‐SE/density/thickness value of 383 dB cm² g^?1, which is higher than most of current EMI shielding composites reported in literature. In summary, CF fabric/TPU composite is an excellent EMI shielding material that is lightweight, highly flexible, and mechanically robust, which can be applied to the field of aerospace and some intelligent electronic devices.     

Microcellular Conductive Carbon Black or Graphene/PVDF Composite Foam with 3D Conductive Channel: A Promising Lightweight,Heat-Insulating,and EMI-Shielding Material

In this study, a lightweight microcellular carbon-based filler/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composite foam is fabricated with a 3D conductive network that is thermally insulating, electrically conductive, and fabricated on a large scale. This composite can be used for high-efficiency thermal insulation and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. The prepared composite demonstrates low density, high electrical conductivity, and excellent thermal insulation properties. The structure and density of the conductive network and the carbon-based filler content has a significant influence on the electrical conductivity of the prepared composite foam. Although the composite comprises microcellular PVDF beads of the same density, the conductivity of the composite-comprising strip beads is greater than that comprising spherical beads. In the same conductive network structure, as the size of the microcellular PVDF beads decrease, the conductive network becomes denser, which results in a higher conductivity. Furthermore, with an increase in the conductive filler content, the conductivity improves significantly. Excellent EMI shielding materials with optimal filler content and particle shapes, exhibiting EMI shielding effectiveness of up to 40–50 dB, are developed. The prepared composite foam possesses excellent application potential in the fields of ultra-light thermal insulation, conductivity, and EMI shielding.     

Fabrication and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of carbon nanotube reinforced carbon fiber/pyrolytic carbon composites

Carbon nanotube reinforced carbon fiber/pyrolytic carbon composites were fabricated by precursor infiltration and pyrolysis method and their electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) was investigated over the frequency range of 8.2–12.4 GHz (X-band). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were in situ formed through catalyzing hydrocarbon gases evaporating out of phenolic resin with nano-scaled Ni particles. The content of CNTs increased with the increase of Ni loadings (0.00, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.25 wt.%) in phenolic resin. Thermal gravimetrical analysis results showed that the carbon yield of phenolic resin increased with the addition of Ni catalyst. With the formation of CNTs, the EMI SE increased from 28.3 to 75.2 dB in X-band. The composite containing 5.0 wt.% CNTs showed an SE higher than 70 dB in the whole X-band.     

Theoretical and experimental studies on EMI shielding mechanisms of multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforced high performance composite nanofibers

Electrically conductive composite nanofibers of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by electrospinning process. The complex permittivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of all composite nanofibers were measured in the X band frequency range 8.2–12.4 GHz. The electrical conductivity, real and imaginary part of permittivity, and EMI shielding behaviors of the composite nanofibers were reported as function of MWCNTs concentration. Electrical conductivity of MWCNTs/PVP composite nanofiber followed power law model of percolation theory having a percolation threshold ?_c = 0.72 vol% (~1 wt.%) and exponent t = 1.71. The total EMI SE of MWCNTs/PVP composite nanofibers increased up to 42 dB mainly base on the absorption mechanism. The EMI SE measured from experiments was also compared with the approximate value calculated from theoretical model. The obtained theory results confirmed that the selected model presented acceptable performance for evaluating the involved parameters and prediction of the EMI SE of composite nanofibers. The ability of the theoretical model to predict the EMI shielding by reflection and absorption was found to be a function of the frequency, thickness, permittivity, and conductivity.     

Facile preparation of light-weight biodegradable and electrically conductive polymer based nanocomposites for superior electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness

Harmful electromagnetic radiations that are generated from different electronic devices could be absorbed by a light weight and mechanically flexible good electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding polymer nanocomposite. On the other hand, different electronic wastes (“e-wastes”) which are generally polymer building materials generated from wastes of dysfunctional electronic devices are not naturally biodegradable. Our recent effort has been employed to produce bio-degradable EMI shielding polymer nanocomposite. For that purpose, we had prepared a 50:50 ratio polylactic acid/thermoplastic polyurethane polymer nanocomposite by mixing the conducting carbon black with the blend following the facile and industrially feasible solution mixing method. Morphological characterizations by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the co-continuous morphology of the neat blend as well as polymer nanocomposites with the preferential distribution of conductive filler on a particular polymer phase. The polymer nanocomposites gave good mechanically with improved thermal properties. We got EMI shielding effectiveness around −27 dB with a low percolation threshold at around 30 wt% filler loading in the polymer nanocomposite at the X-band frequency domain (8.2–12.4 GHz). Later we had studied the biodegradability of the PLA/TPU along with their composites (T_XP_XC_X) by employing the respirometry method and got a satisfactory result to ensure their biodegradability.     

Multifunctional Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Materials with Enhanced Thermal Conductivity and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effectiveness for Electronic Devices

A paraffin-based shape-stabilized composite phase change material (CPCM) is fabricated with dramatically enhanced thermal conductivity and excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding capacity. The as-prepared CPCMs are supported by graphene-based frameworks with many bubble-like micropores that are prepared by the addition of polystyrene microspheres into graphene oxide hydrogel as hard templates. These bubble-like micropores can encapsulate paraffin wax (PW) due to the strong capillary force between the graphene-based framework and PW and leading to enhanced shape stability of the as-prepared CPCMs. Moreover, the continuous thermally and electrically conductive network formed by graphene nanoplatelets endows the as-prepared CPCMs with a high thermal conductivity and an excellent EMI shielding effectiveness. When the ratio of graphene-based framework is 23.0 wt%, the thermal conductivity and latent heat of CPCM reaches 28.7 W m⁻¹ k⁻¹ and 175.8 J g⁻¹, respectively, and the EMI shielding effectiveness is higher than 45 dB in the frequency of 8.2–12.4 GHz. Their outstanding thermal and EMI shielding performance makes the as-prepared CPCMs promising candidates for use in thermal management and EMI shielding of electronic devices.     

MXene/PDMS composite foam with regulatable cell structures for improved EMI shielding performance

The construction of conductive network and the design of material structure are the key points of polymer-based shielding materials. Herein, we reported a MXene/PDMS composite foam material with adjustable cell structure and high efficiency electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Few-layered MXene is used as a conductive filler to construct three-dimensional conductive networks by in situ chemical etching. Meanwhile, a series of polystyrene microspheres with different sizes were prepared by applying suspension polymerization method as templates to introduce different cell sizes and densities for PDMS-based materials. The density and EMI shielding performance of composites can be improved by adjusting the cell structure. Compared with the unfoamed MXene/PDMS composites, the composite foam in this work not only reduces the material density greatly but also improves the microwave absorption performance with smaller cell size. This method provides a simple and effective guide for changing material density and absorbing mechanism by introducing cell structure into polymer-based materials in the future.     

Flexible poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene) nanocomposites for electromagnetic interference shielding

In this report, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNT) embedded poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene) (SEBS) microspheres (CNT/SEBS) were prepared by solvent evaporation method. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets were used to cover the surface of CNT/SEBS microspheres. The CNT/SEBS/rGO nanocomposites with special segregated conductive network were fabricated by hot pressing these as-prepared complex microspheres. The morphology, electrical percolation threshold, electrical conductivity, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of CNT/SEBS/rGO composites were characterized. The shielding mechanisms were discussed in detail. Analysis of electrical conductive performance shows that the electrical percolation threshold of rGO is 0.22 vol %. Results of EMI shielding test confirmed the synergistic effect between CNT and rGO. The EMI SE of the composite filled by 2.1 vol % CNT and 3.35 vol % rGO can achieve 26 dB in 8.2− 12.4 GHz (X band), which exceeds the basic requirement for commercial application (20 dB). Its reflectance coefficient (19–41%) indicates that the most part of incident electromagnetic (EM) wave energy is attenuated through absorption mechanism. This kind of absorptive EMI shielding material can be applied without serious secondary EM radiation pollution problems. The effects of filler content, molding temperature on EMI SE, and shielding mechanism were also investigated. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48542.     

Efficient fabrication of carbon/silicon carbide composite for electromagnetic interference shielding applications

Ceramic matrix composites are typically prepared by a costly, time-consuming process under severe conditions. Herein, a cost-effective C/SiC composite was fabricated from a silicon gel-derived source by Joule heating. The β-SiC phase was generated via carbothermal reduction, and the carbon fabric showed a well-developed graphitic structure, promoting its thermal and anti-oxidation stabilities. Owing to the excellent dielectric loss in carbon fabric, SiC and SiO₂ as well as the micropore structure of the ceramic matrix, the absolute electromagnetic interference shielding (EMI) effectiveness (SSE/t) reached 948.18 dB?cm²?g^-1 in the X-band, exhibiting an excellent EMI SE. After oxidation at 1000 °C for 10 h in the air, the SSE/t of the composite was only reduced to 846.02 dB?cm²?g^-1. The C/SiC composite promises the efficient fabrication of high-temperature resistant materials for electromagnetic shielding applications.     

Flexible and Highly Conductive AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS Functionalized Aramid Nonwoven Fabric for High-Performance Electromagnetic Interference Shielding and Joule Heating

High-performance multifunctional textiles are highly demanded for human health-related applications. In this work, a highly conductive nonwoven fabric is fabricated by coating silver nanowires (AgNWs)/poly(3,4-ethyl enedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) on a poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) nonwoven fabric through a multistep dip coating process. The as-prepared PMIA/AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS composite nonwoven fabric shows an electrical resistance as low as 0.92 ± 0.06 Ω sq⁻¹ with good flexibility. The incorporation of the PEDOT:PSS coating layer improves the adhesion between AgNWs and PMIA nonwoven fabric, and also enhances the thermal stability of the composite nonwoven fabric. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and Joule heating performances of the PMIA/AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS composite nonwoven fabric are also investigated. The results show that the average EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of the single-layer nonwoven fabric in X-band is as high as 56.6 dB and retains a satisfactory level of SE after being washed, bended, and treated with acid/alkali solution and various organic solvents. The composite nonwoven fabric also exhibits low voltage-driven Joule heating performance with reliable heating stability and repeatability. It can be envisaged that the multifunctional PMIA/AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS nonwoven fabric with reliable stability and chemical robustness can be used in EMI shielding devices and personal thermal management products.     

Synergistic effect of polyindole decoration on bismuth neodymium ferrite powder for achieving wideband microwave absorber

Recently, composite materials with outstanding absorption properties, like extraordinary absorbing capability, light weight, and thin in size, are required to solve the challenges of electromagnetic pollution. In addition, most of the work is based on the optimization of absorber material structure, and microstructure. In the current work, we improved the reflection loss feature of Bi_0.5Nd_0.5FeO₃ nanopowders via decoration with polyindole polymer by tuning the filler loading of the nanocomposite in the matrix. XRD, UV–Vis, XPS, and FESEM were used to determine the physicochemical features of the as-prepared nanocomposite. The minimum RL was lowered further with the increasing filler loading at 25 wt%. The lower RL of ?22 dB was noticed for 2.2 mm thickness at 11.5 GHz. The maximum value of the SE_R for a 25 wt% sample was 5.5, whereas 19 dB and 24.5 dB values were recorded for SE_A and SET, respectively. The resonance peak above 11.5 GHz demonstrated the better outcome of the absorber at high frequency. Good impedance matching characteristics, conductive features, dielectrics, and magnetic losses were all credited with the excellent reflection loss and electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency. The as-prepared nanocomposite materials that have been proven are interesting prospects for electromagnetic reflection loss and interference shielding that is lightweight, flexible, and extremely effective.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes–BaTiO3/silica composites with high complex permittivity and improved electromagnetic interference shielding at elevated temperature

Composites with silica matrix and mixed filler of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and BaTiO₃ powder were fabricated. Excellent uniform dispersion of MWCNTs can be obtained using a two-step mixing method. Both of the real and imaginary parts of complex permittivity increased with increasing MWCNT content and measured temperature. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding results showed that the absorption mechanism is the main contribution to the total EMI shielding effectiveness (SE). Compared with the EMI SE resulting from reflection, the absorption showed more dependence on the MWCNT content, measured temperature and frequency. The total EMI SE is greater than 20 dB at 25 °C and 50 dB at 600 °C in the whole frequency range of 12.4–18 GHz with a 1.5 mm composite thickness, which suggests that the MWCNT–BaTiO₃/silica composites could be good candidates for the EMI shielding materials in the measured frequency and temperature region.     

Enhanced electromagnetic interference shielding properties of silicon carbide composites with aligned graphene nanoplatelets

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were successfully incorporated into silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic matrix in a self-aligned pattern and the obtained materials displayed extremely high value of shielding effectiveness (SE) over 40?dB by adding only 3?wt.% GNPs, which was the highest SE value in all SiC-based composites reported in literature up to now. It was found that the texture distribution of GNPs was crucial to achieve the high electromagnetic interference shielding performance of SiC/GNPs composites, which can contribute to the significant improvement of both absorption and reflection. The improved absorption originated from the formation of network of mini capacitors comprised of self-aligned GNPs and multiple reflections. The improvement of reflection was attributed to the high electrical conductivity of the composite due to the introduction of GNPs. These results indicate that SiC/GNPs composites can be used as high-performance ceramic-based EMI shielding materials.     

Dielectric property and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of ethylene vinyl acetate‐based conductive composites: Effect of different type of carbon fillers

Carbon black, short carbon fiber (SCF), and multiwall carbon nano‐tube (MWNT)‐filled conductive composites were prepared from ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer. The dielectric property and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding of carbon black, MWNT, and SCF‐filled composites were studied with different filler loadings. The dielectric constant and loss of filled polymer composites is due to the formation of interfacial polarization in the polymer matrix. It was found that the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and EMI shielding of filled composites depends on amount and type of filler loading. The results of different experiments have been discussed in the light of break down and formation of continuous conductive network in polymer matrix. The results indicate that these composites can be used as effective EMI shielding materials. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotube/cement composites with exceptional electromagnetic interference shielding properties

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/portland cement(PC) composites have been fabricated to evaluate their electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE). The results show that they can be used for the shielding of EMI in the microwave range. The incorporation of 15 wt.% MWCNTs in the PC matrix produces a SE more than 27 dB in X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz), and this SE is found to be dominated by absorption. Furthermore, the structural analysis, surface morphology and surface interaction of MWCNTs with PC matrix have been explored using XRD, SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique.     

Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of hybrid multifunctional Fe3O4/carbon nanofiber composite

Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of multifunctional Fe₃O₄/carbon nanofiber composites in the X-band region (8.2–12.4 GHz) is studied. Here, we examine the contributing effects of various parameters such as Fe₃O₄ content, carbonization temperature and thickness on total shielding efficiency (SE_total) of different samples. The maximum EMI SE of 67.9 dB is obtained for composite of 5 wt.% Fe₃O₄ (0.7 mm thick) with the dominant shielding by absorption (SE_A) of electromagnetic radiation. The enhanced electromagnetic shielding performance of Fe₃O₄/carbon nanofiber composites is attributed to the increment of both magnetic and dielectric losses due to the incorporation of magnetite nanofiller (Fe₃O₄) in electrically conducting carbon nanofiber matrix as well as the specific nanofibrous structure of carbon nanofiber mats, which forms a higher aspect ratio structure with randomly aligned nanofibers. Furthermore, we prove that the addition of elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a coating for carbon nanofiber composite strengthens the composite structure without interfering with its electromagnetic shielding efficiency.     

Electromagnetic shielding properties of carbon‐rich chemical vapor infiltration‐prone silicon carbide matrix composites

This study focuses on the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of SiC nanowire/SiC ceramic composites (SiC_nw/SiC) manufactured by chemical vapor infiltration of SiC_nw aerogels with carbon‐rich SiC. The total EMI SE of a 1.0 mm thick ceramic composite specimen with density of only 2.68 g/cm³, was found to be 43‐44 dB, which indicates an excellent EM shielding capability of the ceramic composite corresponding to blocking of 99.99% of the incident EM signal. It was found that the carbon‐rich CVI‐SiC matrix possess excellent EM shielding properties, therefore, the CVI‐SiC CMCs themselves possess an excellent EM shielding property as a result of the carbon‐rich SiC matrix.     

Conductive polymer composites with segregated structures

Conductive polymer composites (CPCs) have generated significant academic and industrial interest for several decades. Unfortunately, ordinary CPCs with random conductive networks generally require high conductive filler loadings at the insulator/conductor transition, requiring complex processing and exhibiting inferior mechanical properties and low economic affordability. Segregated CPC (s-CPC) contains conductive fillers that are segregated in the perimeters of the polymeric granules instead of being randomly distributed throughout the bulk CPC material; these materials are overwhelmingly superior compared to normal CPCs. For example, the s-CPC materials have an ultralow percolation concentration (0.005–0.1 vol%), superior electrical conductivity (up to 10⁶ S/m), and reasonable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (above 20 dB) at low filler loadings. Therefore, considerable progress has been achieved with s-CPCs, including high-performance anti-static, EMI shielding and sensing materials. Currently, however, few systematic reviews summarizing these advances with s-CPCs are available. To understand and efficiently harness the abilities of s-CPCs, we attempted to review the major advances available in the literature. This review begins with a concise and general background on the morphology and fabrication methods of s-CPCs. Next, we investigate the ultralow percolation behaviors of and the elements exerting a relevant influence (e.g., conductive filler type, host polymers, dispersion methods, etc.) on s-CPCs. Moreover, we also briefly discussed the latest advances in the mechanical, sensing, thermoelectric and EMI shielding properties of the s-CPCs. Finally, an overview of the current challenges and tasks of s-CPC materials is provided to guide the future development of these promising materials.