Synergism between carbon materials and Ni chains in flexible poly(vinylidene fluoride) composite films with high heat dissipation to improve electromagnetic shielding properties

We prepared poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/carbon/Ni-chain composites by dispersing Ni chains, and either carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) into a PVDF solution. The electrical conductivity and the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties of the PVDF/CNT/Ni-chain and the PVDF/GNP/Ni-chain composites were increased by increasing the Ni-chain filler content. The electrical conductivity of the PVDF/CNT/10 wt%Ni-chain composite was lower than the PVDF/CNT/6 wt%Ni-chain composite. We attributed this abnormality to the Ni chains having blocked the CNT connections, when there was a high Ni-chain content. Furthermore, the PVDF-based composites' EMI shielding properties were effectively tuned by controlling the films' thicknesses. The total shielding of the PVDF/CNT/6 wt%Ni-chain and the PVDF/GNP/8 wt%Ni-chain composite films increased from 23.6 to 57.3 dB and from 22.7 to 55.8 dB, as their thicknesses were increased from 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm, respectively. The synergetic relationship between the Ni chains and the carbon materials (CNT or GNP), meant that the main EMI shielding mechanisms of the PVDF/carbon/Ni-chain composites had resulted from the absorption process. Moreover, these composites possessed high thermal conductivity, which can convert microwave energy into Joule heating systems. Thus, these PVDF-based composite films can be used to make high-efficiency EMI shielding devices that can rapidly dissipate heat.