Flexible GnPs/EPDM with Excellent Thermal Conductivity and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Properties

As the portable device hardware has been increasing at a noticeable rate, ultrathin flexible materials with the combination of high thermal conductivity and excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance are urgently needed. Here, we fabricated ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber with different loading graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs/EPDM) by a cost-efficient approach, which combines mixing, ultrasonication and compression. Further investigation demonstrates that the 8 wt.% GnPs/EPDM with only 0.3 mm in thickness shows excellent electrical conductivity (28.3 S/m), thermal conductivity (0.79 W/mK) and good mechanical properties. Besides, the 8 wt.% GnPs/EPDM exhibits an EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) up to 33 dB in the X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz) and 35 dB in the Ku-band (12.4-18 GHz), superior to most of the reported rubber matrix. Additionally, the GnPs/EPDM shows excellent flexibility and stability with 95% and 94% retention of EMI SE even after repeated bending for 5000 times and corrosion (under 5% NaCl environment) for a week. Our flexible EMI shielding material will benefit the fast-growing next-generation commercial portable flexible electrons.