CNT@PDMS/NW composite materials with superior electromagnetic shielding

Lightweight materials with high electrical conductivity and hydrophobic mechanical properties are ideal materials for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Herein, the conductive composites with great EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) were successfully obtained by introducing multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based on the original structure of natural wood (NW). CNT@PDMS/NW composites were prepared via vacuum-pulse impregnation method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, hydrophobicity analysis, and EMI shielding performance. As demonstrated, CNT nanosheets were successfully inserted into wood matrices, and hydrogen bonding between CNT nanosheets and cellulose nanofibers induced the fabrication of CNT@PDMS/NW composites. CNT@PDMS/NW composites exhibited excellent EMI SE values of 25.2 dB at the X-band frequency.

Silicate conductive composites with graphite-based fillers

Electroconductive composites are modern materials that are commonly used in many industries such as construction industry and machine-building industry. For example, these materials can be useful as sensors for monitoring changes in constructions, shielding stray currents from electrification networks, shielding electromagnetic radiation in operating rooms, cathodic protection against moisture or overvoltage protection of buildings. The topic of this post is the research of electrically conductive silicate composites with graphite-based fillers. In this research will be tested composites with different ratio and types of graphite and monitor their electroconductive properties like impedance, and physical-mechanical properties like compressive and tensile strength. The post describes basic properties and interactions of silicate electrically conductive composites with graphite fillers. It was found that by adding 10 % wt. graphite into silicate composites, impedance is reduced by 50% and compressive strength by 40%. The flexural tensile strength depends mainly on the roughness of the particles, where the coarser flaky particles transfer the load better and increase the strength while very fine graphites reduce the flexural tensile strength. Furthermore, it has been found that very finely ground synthetic graphites are most suitable for achieving low impedance of composites.

D-GQDs Modified Epoxy Resin Enhances the Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Epoxy Resin Thermally Conductive Composites

This article proposes a method of increasing thermal conductivity (λ) by improving the λ value of a matrix and reducing the interfacial thermal resistance between such matrix and its thermally conductive fillers. D-GQDs (graphene quantum dots modified by polyetheramine D400) with a π–π-conjugated system in the center of their molecules, and polyether branched chains that are rich in amino groups at their edges, are designed and synthesized. AlN/DG-ER (AlN/D-GQDs-Epoxy resin) thermally conductive composites are obtained using AlN as a thermally conductive and insulating filler, using D-GQDs-modified epoxy resin as a matrix. All of the thermal conductivity, electrically insulating and physical–mechanical properties of AlN/DG-ER are investigated in detail. The results show that D-GQDs linked to an epoxy resin by chemical bonds can increase the value of λ of the epoxy–resin matrix and reduce the interfacial thermal resistance between AlN and DG-ER (D-GQDs–epoxy resin). The prepared AlN/DG-ER is shown to be a good thermally conductive and insulating packaging material.

EMI Shielding and Absorption of Electroconductive Textiles with PANI and PPy Conductive Polymers and Numerical Model Approach

The paper presents the results and analysis of interdisciplinary research concerning electromagnetic field shielding, conductive polymers printed on textiles and numerical simulation using the finite element method (FEM). The use of conductive, layered textiles for shielding electromagnetic interference (EMI) has been proposed. After establishing the optimal conditions for deposition of polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPy) on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fabric, conductive composites were made by means of reactive inkjet printing. For this purpose, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fabrics were coated with polyaniline or polypyrrole, obtained by chemical oxidation of aniline hydrochloride and pyrrole by ammonium peroxydisulfate. The morphology of the obtained coatings was observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The conductive properties (surface resistance) of the fabrics were measured using the four-wire method, and the tests of the effectiveness of electromagnetic shielding were carried out using the waveguide method in the frequency range from 2.5 to 18 GHz. The results of experimental shielding effectiveness (SE) tests and numerical simulation showed that the composites of polyacrylonitrile with polyaniline PAN/PANI and polyacrylonitrile with polypyrrole PAN/PPy achieved very good and good EMI shielding efficiency, respectively. Moreover, the obtained measurement results were verified by numerical modeling with the use of FEM–ANSYS HFFS software.

Thermal, Morphological, Electrical Properties and Touch-Sensor Application of Conductive Carbon Black-Filled Polyamide Composites

Polyamide 66 (PA66) is a well-known engineering thermoplastic polymer, primarily employed in polymer composites with fillers and additives of different nature and dimensionality (1D, 2D and 3D) used as alternatives to metals in various technological applications. In this work, carbon black (CB), a conductive nanofiller, was used to reinforce the PA66 polymer in the 9–27 wt. % CB loading range. The reason for choosing CB was intrinsically associated with its nature: a nanostructured carbon filler, whose agglomeration characteristics affect the electrical properties of the polymer composites. Crystallinity, phase composition, thermal behaviour, morphology, microstructure, and electrical conductivity, which are all properties engendered by nanofiller dispersion in the polymer, were investigated using thermal analyses (thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry), microscopies (scanning electron and atomic force microscopies), and electrical conductivity measurements. Interestingly, direct current (DC) electrical measurements and conductive-AFM mapping through the samples enable visualization of the percolation paths and the ability of CB nanoparticles to form aggregates that work as conductive electrical pathways beyond the electrical percolation threshold. This finding provides the opportunities to investigate the degree of filler dispersion occurring during the transformation processes, while the results of the electrical properties also contribute to enabling the use of such conductive composites in sensor and device applications. In this regard, the results presented in this paper provide evidence that conductive carbon-filled polymer composites can work as touch sensors when they are connected with conventional low-power electronics and controlled by inexpensive and commercially available microcontrollers.