Conducting polypyrrole/graphene nanocomposites as potential electromagnetic interference shielding materials in the Ku-band

Enormous progress in nanotechnology has made electronic systems smaller but has also created a new type of problem called electromagnetic interference (EMI). Carbon-based conducting polymer nanocomposites have potential applications as EMI shielding materials owing to their high conductivity and dielectric constant of the materials that contribute to the high EMI shielding efficiency (SE). In the present investigation, highly conducting polypyrrole (PPy)/graphene (GNS) nanocomposites were prepared by in-situ polymerisation with different concentration of functionalised GNS (1%, 3% and 5%). UV-VIS and FTIR show a systematic shifting of the characteristic bands of PPy, with the increase in the GNS phase suggesting significant interaction between the phases. The SEM images show thick and uniform coating of PPy over the surface of individual GNS. PPy/GNS nanocomposites showed a semiconducting behaviour similar to that of PPy as well as improved dielectric and EMI shielding properties. The EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) and dielectric constant of nanocomposites were found to increase with increasing GNS content and were found to be absorption-dominated, indicating that PPy/GNS nanocomposites are potential lightweight EMI shielding materials for the protection of electronic systems from electromagnetic radiation in the Ku-band. © Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2016.