Excellent Electromagnetic Interference Shielding by Graphene- MnFe2O4-Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Hybrids at Very Low Weight Percentage in Polymer Matrix

We report electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness of reduced graphene oxide-manganese ferrite (RGO-MnFe2O4) hybrids in presence of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as conductive filler in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix. MnFe2O4 nanoparticles and RGO-MnFe2O4 hybrids were synthesized by a facile one-step hydrothermal method and different PVDF/RGO-MnFe2O4 composite films containing fixed amount of MWCNTs (3 wt%) were fabricated by solution blending. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron and atomic force microscopies and by thermal gravimetric analysis. Excellent absorption and a total EMI shielding (SET) of ca. -38dB at 18 GHz were noted for 5wt% RGO-MnFe2O4. Interestingly, the storage modulus of this particular composite film showed 3 folds higher modulus as compared to control PVDF film. Our study establishes that simple and economical fabrication method of PVDF/RGO-MnFe2O4/MWCNTs composite film at very low filler content has a great potential as microwave absorbing material.