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. 2024 Mar 26;16(7):915.
doi: 10.3390/polym16070915.

A Facile Approach to Produce Activated Carbon from Waste Textiles via Self-Purging Microwave Pyrolysis and FeCl3 Activation for Electromagnetic Shielding Applications

Sema Sert  1 , Şirin Siyahjani Gultekin  2 , Burak Gültekin  3 , Deniz Duran Kaya  4 , Ayşegül Körlü  4
Affiliations

A Facile Approach to Produce Activated Carbon from Waste Textiles via Self-Purging Microwave Pyrolysis and FeCl3 Activation for Electromagnetic Shielding Applications

Sema Sert et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

This study aims to convert composite textile structures composed of nonwoven and woven fabrics produced from cotton-jute wastes into activated carbon textile structures and investigate the possibilities of using them for electromagnetic shielding applications. To this end, the novel contribution of this study is that it shows that directly carbonized nonwoven textile via self-purging microwave pyrolysis can provide Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) shielding without any processing, including cleaning. Textile carbonization is generally achieved with conventional heating methods, using inert gas and long processing times. In the present study, nonwoven fabric from cotton-jute waste was converted into an activated carbon textile structure in a shorter time via microwaves without inert gas. Due to its polar structure, FeCl3 has been used as a microwave absorbent, providing homogeneous heating in the microwave and acting as an activating agent to serve dual purposes in the carbonization process. The maximum surface area (789.9 m2/g) was obtained for 5% FeCl3. The carbonized composite textile structure has a maximum of 39.4 dB at 1 GHz of EMI shielding effectiveness for 10% FeCl3, which corresponds to an excellent grade for general use and a moderate grade for professional use, exceeding the acceptable range for industrial and commercial applications of 20 dB, according to FTTS-FA-003.

Keywords: EMI shielding; iron chloride; microwave pyrolysis; nonwoven; textile recycling.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Activated carbon production process (red text expresses where this study is in the literature according to the materials and methods to produce activated carbon).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Schematic drawing of nonwoven + woven + nonwoven textile structure obtained by needle punching. (b) Needle-punching system.
Figure 3
Figure 3
First experiments with dry textiles without any microwave absorbers.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Flowchart of experimental system.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic drawing of electromagnetic shielding effectiveness test system.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Textile composite (a) before carbonization and (b) after carbonization.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a) XRD pattern of all carbonized nonwoven–woven composite textiles. (b) XRD pattern of carbonized nonwoven–woven composite textile with 15% FeCl3.
Figure 8
Figure 8
XPS survey analysis for (a) raw nonwoven–woven composite textile and (b) carbonized nonwoven–woven composite textile with 5% FeCl3.
Figure 9
Figure 9
XPS survey analysis for carbonized nonwoven–woven composite textile with (a) 10% FeCl3, (b) 15% FeCl3.
Figure 10
Figure 10
XPS analysis of raw nonwoven–woven composite textile: (a) C1s spectrum, (b) O1s spectrum.
Figure 11
Figure 11
XPS analysis of carbonized textile with 5% FeCl3 sample: (a) C1s, (b) O1s.
Figure 12
Figure 12
XPS analysis of carbonized textile with 10% FeCl3 sample: (a) C1s, (b) O1s.
Figure 13
Figure 13
XPS analysis of carbonized textile with 15% FeCl3 sample: (a) C1s, (b) O1s.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Fe2p spectra of carbonized textile with (a) 5%, (b) 10%, (c) 15% FeCl3.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Comparative TGA analysis of raw and carbonized nonwoven textile with different concentrations of FeCl3.
Figure 16
Figure 16
SEM image of (a) raw nonwoven with magnitude 1000×, carbonized textiles with (b) 5% FeCl3, (c) 10% FeCl3, (d) 15% FeCl3; (e) EDX analysis. Magnitude is 50,000× for all carbonized textiles.
Figure 16
Figure 16
SEM image of (a) raw nonwoven with magnitude 1000×, carbonized textiles with (b) 5% FeCl3, (c) 10% FeCl3, (d) 15% FeCl3; (e) EDX analysis. Magnitude is 50,000× for all carbonized textiles.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Microscopic images with Carl Zeiss microscope. Magnitude is ×10. (a) Raw textile composite (b) carbonized with 15% FeCl3.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Conductivity results with error bars.
Figure 19
Figure 19
EM shielding effectiveness of different treated materials in the frequency range of 1–6 GHz.
Figure 20
Figure 20
(a) Relationship between SSE/t and Average EMSE, (b) Change in electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) according to FeCl3 ratio.
Figure 21
Figure 21
(a) The 5-layered (2-layer nonwoven + woven + 2-layer nonwoven) textile and the role of textile structure, (b) EMI shielding mechanism.
Figure 22
Figure 22
The role of FeCl3 on EMI shielding mechanism.
Figure 23
Figure 23
The role of FeCl3 and the carbonization mechanism.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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