Abstract
A suitable polymer matrix and well dispersed conducting fillers forming an electrically conducting network are the prime requisites for modern age electromagnetic shield designing. An effective polymer-based shield material is designed that can attenuate 99.9% of incident electromagnetic (EM) radiation at a minimum thickness of <0.5 mm. This is accomplished by the choice of a suitable partially crystalline polymer matrix while comparing non-polar polypropylene (PP) with polar polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and a best suited filler nanomaterial by comparing different types of carbon nanotubes such as; branched, single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which were added in only 2 wt %. Different types of interactions (polar-polar and CH-π and donor-acceptor) make b-MWCNT more dispersible in the PVDF matrix, which together with high crystallinity resulted in the best electrical conductivity and electromagnetic shielding ability of this composite. This investigation additionally conceals the issues related to the thickness of the shield material just by stacking individual thin nanocomposite layers containing different carbon nanotube (CNT) types with 0.3 mm thickness in a simple manner and finally achieves 99.999% shielding efficiency at just 0.9 mm thickness when using a suitable order of the different PVDF based nanocomposites.
Highlights
With the gigantic increment in the use of electronic gadgets and the quick advance of telecommunication innovation, electromagnetic radiation is being produced as an offshoot, which is turning into a genuine worldwide issue [1]
In regard of the previously mentioned certainties, the first time in literature, we focus to determine the structural effect of different CNTs such as singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and branched MWCNTs (b-MWCNTs) in EM shield design while incorporated in the polymer matrix
PP and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based composites were prepared by melt-mixing using different CNTs (MWCNT, SWCNT, and b-MWCNT) having different structural properties so as to understand the effects of the matrix and CNT type on the overall shielding performance
Summary
With the gigantic increment in the use of electronic gadgets and the quick advance of telecommunication innovation, electromagnetic radiation is being produced as an offshoot, which is turning into a genuine worldwide issue [1]. Various examinations have been completed on the potentially hazardous impacts of electromagnetic waves on our wellbeing [4]. Polymer composites with conductive fillers incorporated in them have high potential in different applications including electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding [5,6]. These conducting fillers are usually randomly distributed in a polymer matrix and in general they require high loadings to attain an insulator/conductor transition. High loading of these fillers usually results in high melt viscosities, inferior mechanical properties, and low economic affordability [7]. There is no study in literature dealing with comparable electromagnetic (EM) shielding properties when using different types of CNTs varying in their properties
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