Effective Attenuation of Electromagnetic Waves by Synergetic Effect of α-Fe2O3 and MWCNT/Graphene in LDPE-Based Composites for EMI Applications

Abstract

In this study, a polymer nanocomposite is synthesized using magnetic and conducting fillers for enhanced electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Alfa-ferrite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles with minimal multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as low as 5 weight % in combination with variable concentrations of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) are used as fillers in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) polymer matrix. Nanofillers and the polymer matrix are characterized by various techniques such as XRD, SEM, color mapping, EDAX, TGA, etc. The EMI shielding efficiency of the LDPE-based nanocomposites is tested using Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). The results showed that composite with LDPE:MWCNT:GNP:α-FO-50:5:40:5 displayed enhanced EMI shielding (in X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) compared to other concentrations studied. This is due to the superior ohmic, dielectric, and magnetic losses at this particular composition and to the synergism amongst the filler. An attenuation of 99.99% was achieved for 5% α-Fe2O3. The mechanistic aspects of the shielding are discussed using permittivity, conductivity, and attenuation.