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Review
. 2020 Mar 17;10(3):541.
doi: 10.3390/nano10030541.

Review of Polymer Composites with Diverse Nanofillers for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Dimuthu Wanasinghe  1 , Farhad Aslani  1   2 , Guowei Ma  1 , Daryoush Habibi  2
Affiliations
Review

Review of Polymer Composites with Diverse Nanofillers for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Dimuthu Wanasinghe et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Polymer matrix composites have generated a great deal of attention in recent decades in various fields due to numerous advantages polymer offer. The advancement of technology has led to stringent requirements in shielding materials as more and more electronic devices are known to cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) in other devices. The drive to fabricate alternative materials is generated by the shortcomings of the existing metallic panels. While polymers are more economical, easy to fabricate, and corrosion resistant, they are known to be inherent electrical insulators. Since high electrical conductivity is a sought after property of EMI shielding materials, polymers with fillers to increase their electrical conductivity are commonly investigated for EMI shielding. Recently, composites with nanofillers also have attracted attention due to the superior properties they provide compared to their micro counterparts. In this review polymer composites with various types of fillers have been analysed to assess the EMI shielding properties generated by each. Apart from the properties, the manufacturing processes and morphological properties of composites have been analysed in this review to find the best polymer matrix composites for EMI shielding.

Keywords: EMI; composites; nanomaterials; polymer; shielding.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation showing the mechanism of electromagnetic shielding. Reproduced with permission from Ajay et al. [48], Copyright 2018, John Wiley and Sons.
Figure 2
Figure 2
EMI SE comparison of reviewed conductive polymer composites.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM images showing (a) the distribution of SCF within the EVA matrix. Reproduced with permission from Das et al. [75], Copyright 2000, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 4
Figure 4
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing carbon black.
Figure 5
Figure 5
SEM image of the microstructure of graphene/epoxy composite. Reproduced with permission from Liang et al. [84], Copyright 2009, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM image of the graphene/PMMA composite with microcellular cells. Reproduced with permission from Zhang et al. [85], Copyright 2011, American Chemical Society.
Figure 7
Figure 7
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing graphene.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Process flow chart of preparing Fe3O4 coated graphene/PEI foam composite. Reproduced with permission from Shen et al. [87], Copyright 2013, American Chemical Society.
Figure 9
Figure 9
microstructure of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) coated with carbon nanofibers and Fe3O4 nanoparticles deposited rGO. Reproduced with permission from Wu et al. [89], Copyright 2017, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Illustration of a possible interaction between EMW and composite with epoxy matrix and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) coated with carbon nanofibers, and Fe3O4 nanoparticles deposited rGO nanohybrids. Reproduced with permission from Wu et al. [89], Copyright 2017, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 11
Figure 11
EMI SE comparison of reviewed foam polymer composites.
Figure 12
Figure 12
SEM Image of microstructure with carbon nanofiber aggregate within polymer matrix. Reproduced with permission from Nanni et al. [94], Copyright 2009, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 13
Figure 13
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing carbon fibres.
Figure 14
Figure 14
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing SWCNTs.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Graphical representation of the formation of PANI–MWCNT nanocomposites. Reproduced with permission from Saini et al. [105], Copyright 2009, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 16
Figure 16
SEM image of composite containing MWCNTs in PANI matrix. Reproduced with permission from Saini et al. [105], Copyright 2009, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 17
Figure 17
SEM image of MWCNTs distribution within PTT matrix. Reproduced with permission from Gupta et al. [110], Copyright 2011, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 18
Figure 18
SEM image of the coating consisting of MWCNTs in polyurethane matrix. Reproduced with permission from Folgueras et al. [116], Copyright 2014, Scielo.
Figure 19
Figure 19
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing MWCNTs.
Figure 20
Figure 20
Schematic representation for the fabrication of flexible MWCNT/GTR composite. Reproduced with permission from Chuan et al. [118], Copyright 2017, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 21
Figure 21
SEM image of the MWCNT/GTR composite. Reproduced with permission from Chuan et al. [118], Copyright 2017, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 22
Figure 22
SEM image of the MWCNT/PVDF porous composite. Reproduced with permission from Wang et al. [121], Copyright 2016, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 23
Figure 23
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing MWCNTs mixed with various fillers.
Figure 24
Figure 24
SEM image of Ag nanowire composite with 28.6 wt% Reproduced with permission from Zeng et al. [123], Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society.
Figure 25
Figure 25
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing metallic fillers.
Figure 26
Figure 26
SEM image of surface of the electroconductive adhesive filled with silver-coated carbonyl iron powders. Reproduced with permission from Guo et al. [127], Copyright 2015, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 27
Figure 27
SEM image of NiO coated cenospheres used in PNiOC. Reproduced with permission from Bora et al. [133], Copyright 2017, Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 28
Figure 28
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites containing particulate fillers.
Figure 29
Figure 29
EMI SE comparison of reviewed polymer composites within 8 to 12 GHz frequency range.
Figure 30
Figure 30
EMI SE distribution of polymeric composites having high SE compared to SE requirement of MIL-STD-188-125-1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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