Bubble-templated rGO-graphene nanoplatelet foams encapsulated in silicon rubber for electromagnetic interference shielding and high thermal conductivity

Abstract

A facile bubble-templated method based on gelling behavior of GO is proposed to construct 3D interconnected graphene network for efficient EMI shielding and heat conduction rubber composites. This thought realizes high-efficiency EMI SE enhancement when compared with traditional methods, suggesting strong potential in EMI shielding materials. • Bubble-templated 3D graphene networks were constructed via a novel and facile foaming route. • 3D graphene network endow the PDMS composites with excellent EMI shielding performance. • The composites possess extremely low density and outstanding electrical and thermal conductivities. Introducing three-dimensional (3D) conductive network in polymer composites is a greatly potential way for acquiring desirable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding capacity to satisfy the requirements of next-generation mobile electronics devices. However, facile and scale production to achieve rational design of the microstructure of 3D conductive framework is still remain challenging. Here, we reported a facile foaming route to construct the bubble-templated 3D graphene network, which endow the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) rubber composites with excellent EMI-shielding effectiveness of ~86 dB at a thickness of 2 mm. The superior EMI-shielding property is ascribed to the abundant closed pore structures to reflect and absorb electromagnetic waves and high electrical conductivity from interconnected 3D graphene networks. Meanwhile, owing to the low filler loading content of only 18.1 wt%, the density of the obtained composite is just 1.1 g/cm 3 , which is about 200% lower than those of the commercial products with a similar EMI SE value. Moreover, this composites also have a high thermal conductivity of above 3 W/(m·K), showing great promise for applications of EMI shielding and efficient thermal management in aerospace, telecommunications, and mobile electronics devices.