Super-Compression-Resistant Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube/Nickel-Coated Carbonized Loofah Fiber/Polyether Ether Ketone Composite with Excellent Electromagnetic Shielding Performance

Abstract

At present, renewable porous biocarbon materials have been receiving increasing attention as electromagnetic shielding materials. Herein, modifying carbonized loofah fibers (CLF) and improving the dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in composites are attempted to obtain high electromagnetic shielding effectiveness accompanying excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability. The surface of the CLF is coated with a layer of nickel by electroless plating, and the MWCNT are uniformly dispersed in the matrix by ultrasonically blending in a cell pulverizer. The results show that the conductivity of the MWCNT/nickel-coated CLF (Ni@CLF)/polyether ether ketone (PEEK) composite with 18 wt % Ni@CLF reached 2.101 S/m. Most importantly, the MWCNT/Ni@CLF18/PEEK composite exhibits an excellent electromagnetic shielding property for a maximum shielding effectiveness of 48.1 dB. It is exciting that the composites have outstanding electromagnetic shielding properties while also possessing superior com...