CNT@PDMS/NW composite materials with superior electromagnetic shielding

Abstract 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.