Enhancing electromagnetic properties through carbon Nanotube-Based polymer composites

Abstract

In this study, electromagnetic [EM] wave-absorbing property material was fabricated from a polymer composite material with [0°/90°]s fiber orientation and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) as filler materials, and with a Perfect Electric Conducting (PEC) material. The experiments are conducted for the composites with PEC-coated and non-PEC-coated materials, using a Vector Network Analyzer by X-band in the frequency range of 8.2 to 12.4 GHz. The characteristics like EM properties and microwave (MW) absorbing properties were calculated in terms of permeability, permittivity, and reflection losses. In addition, mechanical, thermal, and morphological analysis was also performed. The EM absorbing properties were found to be strong for the composites at 5 % reinforcement and for PEC-coated specimens, i.e., −38.69 dB at 10.5 GHz. A similar trend was followed for both mechanical and thermal properties. The CRITIC analysis was performed for these experimental data of EM, mechanical, and thermal properties. By this analysis, the weight percentages were calculated, which defines the sequence order in which the fabricated composites are capable of sustaining all properties. The highest weight percentage obtained for the weight loss parameter (thermal property) was 16.3 %, and the lowest percentage obtained for thermal degradation was 9.7 %.