Novel fire-resistant SiBCN fiber paper with efficient electromagnetic interference shielding and Joule-heating performance

Abstract

Since electromagnetic interference (EMI), icing, and fire incidents greatly threaten aviation safety, multifunctional EMI shielding materials are urgently required in the aviation industry. However, developing highly efficient EMI shielding materials that combine fire resistance and thermal management remains a significant challenge. Here, a novel fire-resistant SiBCN ceramic fiber paper with excellent EMI shielding and Joule heating performance was fabricated via electrospinning followed by cross-linking, pyrolysis, and annealing. Compared with the SiBCN fiber paper prepared at 800 °C with poor EMI shielding performance, the total shielding effectiveness (SET) of the SiBCN fiber paper annealed at 1400 °C significantly increased to 21 dB, with specific shielding effectiveness (SSE/t) as high as 3317 dB•cm2•g−1, due to the precipitation of “island-like” conductive turbostratic C, facilitating the synergistic effects of conduction loss, dipole polarization, and interfacial polarization, resulting in high efficiently attenuation of the electromagnetic waves (EMW). Furthermore, the fiber paper demonstrated excellent fire-resistant and Joule-heating performance, with a rapid electrothermal conversion response and a high saturation temperature of 300 °C at 12 V. Therefore, this work proposes a novel strategy for designing multifunctional ceramic fiber paper with integrated EMI shielding, fire resistance, and Joule heating performance for aircraft safety.