Ultra-thin and highly flexible cellulose nanofiber/silver nanowire conductive paper for effective electromagnetic interference shielding

Abstract Exploring an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding material with lightweight, flexible and easy fabricating process to deal with the increasingly serious electromagnetic environment pollution has become a current developing trend. Here, we reported a novel cellulose nanofiber (CNF)/silver nanowire (AgNW) conductive paper with a distinctive hierarchical structure by a facile “blending-filtration-peeling” process. Results showed that the obtained paper with a thickness of ~40 μm exhibited excellent tensile strength of ~49.1 MPa, a low percolation threshold of 1.4 vol% AgNWs, no significant changes in electrical conductivity after 2000 bending. The outstanding synergy between green CNFs and AgNWs endowed the paper with high EMI shielding effectiveness of up to 39.3 dB in X band and effective shielding effects on electromagnetic signals for realistic mobile phone communication. The special CNF/AgNW papers are expected to broaden new application fields as electronic devices e.g. flexible electronic components or effective ultra-thin EMI shielding materials for daily demands.