Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance of lightweight metal decorated carbon nanostructures dispersed in flexible polyvinylidene fluoride films.

The electromagnetic interference shielding performance of metal decorated MWCNT/rGO in flexible polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films has been studied and reported. X-ray diffraction patterns show the presence of metallic nanoparticles that are bound with the carbon reinforcements of the composites. Morphological studies confirm the homogeneous decoration of the metallic nanoparticles in the MWCNTs and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanohybrid fillers of the composites. The enhanced electrical conductivity value of the prepared composite films, found to be 4.52 × 10⁻⁶ S cm⁻¹ at 1 MHz, is attributed to the facilitation of space charge distribution by the conducting networks upon the incorporation of the metallic nanoparticles. The effective EMI shielding of the polymer nanocomposites, found to be 28.5 dB at 12 GHz upon the incorporation of the metallic nanoparticles in the MWCNT–rGO/PVDF composites, clearly confirms the formation of interconnected networks that reflect as well as absorb the incident electromagnetic radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]