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Electromagnetic interference shielding enhancement of poly(lactic acid)-based carbonaceous nanocomposites by poly(ethylene oxide)-assisted segregated structure: a comparative study of carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets

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Abstract

Fabrication of conductive polymer composites with segregated networks is an effective approach in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. In this article, a simple strategy based on the addition of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), acting as a binder between carbonaceous nanofillers and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) particles, is proposed. The carbonaceous nanofillers were mixed with small amounts of PEO to prepare the masterbatch, and then the masterbatch was coated on the surface of PLA particles at an appropriate temperature. Finally, the coated PLA particles were hot-pressed to form the PLA-based carbonaceous nanocomposites with a segregated structure. The effects of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) on the electrical conductivity and EMI shielding properties of PLA-based nanocomposites, both in segregated and random structures, were compared. For all the nanocomposites, electrical conductivity is always higher in segregated structure than that in random structure. Moreover, the EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) in segregated structure is also higher than that in random structure for all the PLA/GNP nanocomposites and the PLA/CNT nanocomposites with 0.5 to 2 wt% of CNTs. However, for PLA/CNT nanocomposites with 4 to 6 wt% of CNTs, the EMI SE in segregated structure is lower than that in random structure, which is in sharp contrast to the situation of electrical conductivity, due to denser conductive networks in random structure compared to that in segregated structure as demonstrated by the scanning electronic microscopy results. This indicates that the mechanism of EMI shielding is different from that of electrical conductivity.

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Funding

The authors were financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52073261, U1704162).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Mold, Ministry of Education, National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China

    Yafei Wang, Pan Wang, Ziran Du, Chuntai Liu, Changyu Shen & Yaming Wang

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  1. Yafei Wang
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  2. Pan Wang
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  3. Ziran Du
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Correspondence to Yaming Wang.

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Wang, Y., Wang, P., Du, Z. et al. Electromagnetic interference shielding enhancement of poly(lactic acid)-based carbonaceous nanocomposites by poly(ethylene oxide)-assisted segregated structure: a comparative study of carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 5, 209–219 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-021-00320-2

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