Microwave shielding characteristics of thermoplastic/graphene composites with montmorillonite (bentonite) clay addition for improved thermal stability

ABSTRACT

PMMA/graphene/Bentonite and PVC/graphene/Bentonite hybrid composites were prepared by solution casting method. Thermal stability, electrical conductivity and EMI shielding effectiveness in X-band were studied in detail. PVC composite with 5 wt.% Bentonite exhibited an enormous improvement in the thermal stability compared to the PVC/graphene counterpart. However, increase in Bentonite content in the hybrid composites reduced their electrical conductivity and resulted in lower overall shielding effectiveness in X band. The hybrid nanocomposites were found to have a significantly stronger influence of absorption in the overall shielding effectiveness when compared with respective polymer/graphene composites. The detailed microstructural/mechanical characterization elucidates the underlying mechanisms.

KEYWORDS:

• EMI shielding
• Graphene
• Bentonite
• Hybrid nanocomposites
• Thermal stability

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the funding provided by SERB-DST, India (SB/S3/MMER/0111/2014) for this work with gratitude.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jomy Joseph

Dr. Jomy Joseph is curretly workig as an adhoc faculty in the department of Mechaical Engineering, NIT Calicut. He obtained his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University (2004), M. Tech in Manufacturing Technology from National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli (2009) and PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (2020). His research interests include fabrication and processing of Conducting polymer composites, and surface engineering of metals and alloys. 

Ajith Koroth Koyadan

Dr. Ajith Koroth Koyadan received his B.Tech. degree from Kannur University, Kannur, India, M.Tech. degree from the Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, India, and PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2006, 2009, and 2019 respectively. He is currently working as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Government College of Engineering Kannur, Kerala, India. His current research interests include printed antennas, metamaterials, and ground-penetrating radar.

Ajay M. Sidpara

Dr. Ajay M. Sidpara is working as an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department at IIT Kharagpur. His research interests are development of nanofinishing setups for complex surfaces and micro machining.

Jinu Paul

Dr. Jinu Paul obtained his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University (1999), M. Tech in Materials Science from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (2001) and PhD from Nanyang Technological University (2005). He was working as a Research Fellow in National University of Singapore during 205-2009 and in Nanyang Technological University during 2009-2012. He joined as an Assistant Professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2012. Currently he is working as an Associate Professor in National Institute of Technology Calicut. His research interests include Materials Processing, Welding and Composite.