Excellent electromagnetic interference shielding and mechanical properties accomplished in a manganese dioxide decorated graphene/polymer composite

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, we have incorporated pristine graphene and graphene sheets decorated with α and δ forms of manganese dioxide in a hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber matrix to obtain high‐performance composites. The dual mixing technique was adopted to fabricate the composites having enhanced tensile, dielectric, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties. The pristine graphene was introduced at various loadings, however, the α and δ manganese dioxide doped graphene was integrated at a single 8 phr concentration onto the rubber matrix. At an optimized concentration of 8 phr graphene in the matrix, a 101% increase in the tensile strength was observed compared to the unfilled rubber. An excellent improvement in the dielectric properties and a high EMI shielding value of 24.5 dB was observed for the15 phr loaded composite having a thickness of 2 mm. The composites should principally find applications as a robust and lightweight EMI shielding material.