Study of mechanical, electrical and EMI shielding properties of polymer-based nanocomposites incorporating polyaniline coated graphene nanoparticles

Abstract The Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) shielding characteristics of PVC based nanocomposites were studied when reinforced with newly developed Thermally Reduced Graphene Oxide (TRGO) coated with Polyaniline (PANI) nanoparticles. Various techniques were utilized to characterize prepared nanocomposite films like Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), direct current (DC) conductivity measurement, impedance analyses, and EMI shielding. EMI shielding was measured in three different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum like the Microwave region (0.1 GHz to 20 GHz), Near InfraRed (NIR), and Ultraviolet region (UV). The coating of PANI over TRGO provides compatibility of nanoparticles with a polymer matrix that leads to enhanced dispersion. EMI shielding was found to be 104 dB for 40 wt% filler content, because of the formation of a mature and dense interconnected network structure of filler. UV and NIR transmittance was also studied and less than 0.5% transmission in the whole UV (200 nm 400 nm) and NIR (700 nm 2500 nm) region was observed.