A new strategy for high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding by designing a layered double-percolated structure in PS /PVDF/MXene composites

Abstract As electronic devices have been rapidly developed and widely used, there is an urgent demand in developing high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. Double-percolated composites with random structures are supposed to be one of the most prospective materials in the field of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding due to their low filler contents. However, there are challenges of poor performance. To solve the dilemma, a layered double-percolated structure was constructed in co-continuous polystyrene (PS)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/ MXene composite system. At the thickness of 1.35 mm with MXene content of 12 wt.%, the EMI SET of S-PS/PVDF/Mx with the layered double-percolated structure is 55 dB which is higher than the EMI SET of H-PS/PVDF/Mx with a random double-percolated structure. Moreover, the specific EMI SE of S-PS/PVDF/Mx composites reached to 407 dB cm-1, which is also higher than that of H-PS/PVDF/Mx composites (252 dB cm-1). In addition, the AC conductivity and DC conductivity of S-PS/PVDF/Mx are higher than those of H-PS/PVDF/Mx at the same MXene contents. This work provides insightful guidelines for the development of electromagnetic interference materials with new double-percolated structure, low filler content and excellent electromagnetic interference shielding performance.