Ultralight, super-elastic and volume-preserving cellulose fiber/graphene aerogel for high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding

Abstract Ultralight cellulose fiber/thermally reduced graphene oxide (CF/RGO) hybrid aerogel with super-elasticity and excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding capability was fabricated through lyophilization and carbonization process. CF/RGO aerogel with 5 mm thickness exhibits high EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of ∼47.8 dB after annealing at 1000 °C with 5% hydrogen-argon mixture atmosphere. The superior SE is mainly ascribed to the cellular structure and good electrical conductivity of aerogel. The density of CF/RGO aerogel is as low as 2.83 mg/cm3, leading to ultrahigh specific shielding effectiveness (up to 33780 dB cm2/g). The volume/shape of obtained monolithic carbon material can be preserved very well after thermal treatment. The effects of RGO content and annealing conditions on EMI shielding and mechanical properties were investigated. Moreover, the hybrid aerogel possesses excellent mechanical resilience even with large strain (80% reversible compressibility) and outstanding cycling stability. In addition, adjustable EMI shielding capability could be realized by simple mechanical compression. These results demonstrate a promising and facile approach to fabricate low-cost and volume-preserving porous carbon material with superior and tunable EMI shielding performance for potential applications in aerospace and wearable electronic devices.