EM shielding effectiveness of Pd-CNT-Cu nanocomposite buckypaper

Abstract

We report the synthesis of a nanocomposite consisting of Pd doped multiwall carbon nanotubes decorated with Cu nanoparticles, as a lightweight and flexible microwave absorbing material, using an electroless technique. The synthesised nanocomposite was extensively characterized by employing X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, FESEM, and HRTEM and their results were correlated with the high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding observed in the present study. The optimum dielectric properties coupled with good electrical conductivity of this nanocomposite contribute to designing this absorption-based microwave shield, which exhibited a good EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of ∼35 dB at a thickness of 200 μm, resulting in a high specific EMI SE of ∼108 dB cm³ g⁻¹ in the Ku-band.