Effects of diameter and surface area of electrospun nanocomposite fibers on electromagnetic interference shielding

The effects of variation in average diameter and surface area of nanocomposite fibers on electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) fibers were investigated in this paper. The EMI shielding effectiveness of electrospun nanocomposite fibers were measured in the X-band frequency range 8.2–12.4 GHz. The electrical conductivity and EMI shielding behaviors of the nanocomposite fibers were reported as function of average diameter and surface area of MWCNTs/PVP nanocomposite fibers. The electrical conductivity measurements demonstrate using thinner nanocomposite fibers results in a lower limit of electrical resistivity, better electrical conductivity performance. The EMI shielding efficiency of thinner nanocomposite fibers increased up to 42 dB. The EMI shielding data for MWCNTs/PVP nanocomposite fibers with various average diameter and surface area showed that absorption was the major shielding mechanism and reflection was the secondary shielding mechanism. It can be related to higher specific surface area of thinner electrospun MWCNTs/PVP nanocomposite fibers that means more surface area for radiative scatter and absorption leading to higher EMI shielding performance.