Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Performance of Anisotropic Polyimide/Graphene Composite Aerogels

Anisotropic polyimide (PI)/graphene composite aerogels were fabricated by unidirectional freezing. A poly(amic acid) (PAA) ammonium salt/graphene dispersion was first synthesized by mixing together PAA, H2O, triethylamine (TEA), and graphene and then was successively subjected to one-way freezing, freeze-drying, and thermal imidization. The one-way growth of ice crystals endowed the composite aerogels with highly arranged tubular pores. The PI/graphene composite aerogels possessed anisotropic conductivity, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, heat transfer, and compression performance. Moreover, the composite aerogels with low density (0.076 g·cm–3) exhibited high EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 26.1–28.8 dB, and its specific EMI SE value achieved 1373–1518 dB·cm2·g–1 when the graphene content was 13 wt %. The main electromagnetic interference shielding mechanism of these composite aerogels was microwave absorption. The composite aerogels had excellent thermal stability, and their 5% weight loss temperature was higher than 546 °C in nitrogen. This research provided an easy and environmentally friendly approach to prepare lightweight and anisotropic PI-based composite aerogels.