Highly stretchable graphene/polydimethylsiloxane composite lattices with tailored structure for strain-tolerant EMI shielding performance

Abstract

The fast-growing wearable and portable electronics bring imperative demand for high-performance stretchable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials to tackle the issue of electromagnetic (EM) wave pollution. In this work, highly stretchable and conductive graphene/polydimethylsiloxane lattices are fabricated through a facile 3D printing technique. Benefiting from the unique 3D interconnected and robust conductive network, the resultant composite lattices deliver excellent stretchability of 130%, tunable EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) as high as 45 dB, along with exceptional durability, showing over 90% retention of EMI SE even after 200 cycles of repeated stretching and releasing at strains up to 100%. In addition, the composite lattices exhibit outstanding shielding stability, because the deformation of lattice structure effectively shares the external strain, and the filaments perpendicular to the loading direction act as stabilizing layers preventing the steep resistance changes. The exceptional combination of mechanical properties and EMI shielding performance of the composite lattice provide a brand new perspective for next-generation flexible and stretchable electronics.