Electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding properties of polymer/carbon composites

Ferrocene-based polythiophene (PT) composites containing different carbon fillers like multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and carbon black (CB) were prepared through in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method. The prepared PT composites were characterized by employing SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD and XPS techniques. The thermal stability of the PT composites was investigated by TG analysis. It was found that the thermal stability of PT composites was highly improved as compared with pure PT. The electrical conductivity of the composites was measured by a typical four-probe method. Electrical conductivity measurements indicated that the PT composites showed excellent electrical conductivity. Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the composites was measured by using coaxial method in the frequency range of 1–4.5 GHz. The total shielding effectiveness (SET) achieved for PT composites along with MWCNT, RGO and CB was − 24 dB, − 11.27 dB, and − 10.46 dB at 50 wt% composite sample loading in the paraffin wax matrix, respectively. Therefore, the PT-MWCNT composite can be used for the EMI shielding applications.