Deposition of electrically-conductive polyaniline/ferrite nanoparticles onto the polypropylene nonwoven for the development of an electromagnetic interference shield material

Abstract

The widespread use of electronic devices leads to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), which reduces equipment's performance and even threatens human health. Consequently, attempts have been made to develop shields against EMI using magnetic and conductive components. In this study, one of the most industrially prominent polypropylene (PP) nonwoven was converted to an EMI shield through the deposition of conductive polyaniline (PAn) and various magnetic (nano)particles (MPs), such as Fe₃O₄, CoFe₂O₄, and MnFe₂O₄. The preparation of PP composite was ensured by polymerization of the aniline in the presence of different MPs impregnated-PP fabrics. The MPs' crystal structures and magnetic properties, and morphological changes of the PP were revealed by XRD, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), and SEM techniques. The EMI shielding property of the fabrics was examined within 30 MHz-3 GHz. Accordingly, the double-coated PP/MnFe₂O₄/PAn composite showed the highest absorption-dominant attenuation (94.2% at 2.11 GHz) with a 12.4 dB EMSE value.

Keywords:

• Conductive polymers
• magnetic property
• ferrite particles
• conductive fabric composite
• electromagnetic shielding effectiveness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank Ankara University Research Fund (Project number 19L0430003) for providing financial support to the study.