Ni@nylon mesh/PP composites with a novel tree-ring structure for enhancing electromagnetic shielding. (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Songtao; Xu, Zibo; Dong, Yu; Liu, Dongyan; Sui, Guoxin
• Is Part Of: Composites. Volume 131(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: Electromagnetic shielding -- Tree-ring structure -- Electroless Ni plating -- Thermal conductivities; Composite materials -- Periodicals; Manufacturing processes -- Periodicals; Composite materials; Manufacturing processes; Periodicals; 620.11805
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.105798
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-835X

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: A novel tree-ring structure was constructed when rolling Ni@nylon mesh/PP composite films into a cylindrical shape, which was followed by hot compressive molding. These anisotropic composites consisted of layered networks of Ni coated nylon meshes, which were constructed perpendicular to the molding direction and parallel to the vertical direction of tree-ring structures in order to achieve both excellent electromagnetic Shielding effectiveness and thermal conductivity in this particular material design. The composites exhibited prominent mechanical property and thermal stability. Abstract: Two different composites one with a novel tree-ring structure and the other with a multi-layer structure were fabricated based on polypropylene (PP) film and Ni@nylon mesh by using the hot compressive molding. The Ni@nylon mesh prepared by electroless Ni plating generated continuously conductive networks for the composites to possess excellent electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) along with the improvements of thermal conductivities. The maximum SE value of the composites with tree-ring structure achieved 50.6 dB, which was greater than that (25.8 dB) of the conventional multi-layer composites. There was not much difference in thermal conductivity (0.53–0.55 W/m·K) for both two composites with 3.07 vol% Ni, while they were still about 1.2 times higher than that of composites without Ni inclusion. Moreover, the compressive strength (48.8 MPa) of composite with tree-ring structure was higher than that (45.7 MPa) of multi-layer composite at the same Ni content (3.07 vol%).