Comparative Study on the Dielectric, Electrical, Shielding, and Hydrophobic Properties of Cast and Electrospun PAN‐Based Nanocomposites With TiO2 and CNT Reinforcements

ABSTRACT This work presents a comparative study of cast and electrospun membranes based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composites with TiO 2 and carbon nanotube (CNT) nanoparticles for structural, electrical, dielectric, hydrophobic, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties. Whereas cast films have a dense structure, electrospun mats typically confirm a uniform nanofibrous morphology by SEM, and FTIR spectra very much incorporate TiO 2 and CNTs. The electrical measurements indicated a tremendous enhancement in conductivity in electrospun PAN‐TiO 2 ‐CNT membranes ( σ = 7.7 S/m), in contrast to the much lower values produced in cast membranes (10 −6 S/m). Further dielectric analysis demonstrated that interfilling between the fillers in electrospun systems was much stronger due to the quality distribution of fillers. The water contact angle rose considerably with respect to the hydrophobicity test, from about 76° of cast membranes to above 110° of electrospun PAN‐TiO 2 ‐CNT, mainly because of the nanoscale roughness and heterogeneous filler distribution. Most significantly, the electrospun PAN‐TiO 2 ‐CNT attained shielding effectiveness of about 48–50 dB in the low‐frequency range (0.1–100 Hz), far superior to the 6 dB of cast counterparts. These findings reveal the novelty of electrospinning dual‐filler reinforcement to achieve multifunction PAN membranes with outstanding EMI shielding, conductivity, and hydrophobicity, developing an upscale route for advanced coating‐compatible applications in electronics and packaging.