The widespread development and usage of electrical and electronic devices in THz frequency band has instigated great concerns regarding the anticipated functioning of devices. The world is in dire need to develop tunable shielding materials which are not only field functional but could also provide shielding against undesired electromagnetic signals by absorption as the primary mechanism. In this work, nylon 6,6 based hybrid nanocomposite films loaded with 0–50 wt% CNFs have been prepared on the cellulosic substrates by air spray coating technique. XRD and FESEM results have established formation of crystalline films having homogeneously distributed CNFs in the polymer matrix leading to formation of an efficient conductive network. IV measurements demonstrate a significant rise in the dc conductivity in the polymer nanocomposite samples with the gradual increase of CNF content in comparison to the pristine sample. Interestingly, sample containing 50 wt% CNFs has shown dc conductivity value of 0.03 Scm−1 while shielding effectiveness (SE) of 44 dB obtained through THz‐TDS. The results hold a distinctive position in these samples which have outperformed at a very low thickness of ~570 μm as compared to the results obtained by many other novel polymer composites and present themselves a light weight field functional high THz absorption materials.

With the rapid advancement in THz technology and continuously increasing number of electrical and electronic devices in this frequency band, highly efficient and functional THz shielding materials are required to ensure the intended working of these devices. Polymeric composites of hybrid nano-fillers including CNFs and magnetic nanoparticles possess distinctive capability of providing high shielding efficiency primarily absorptive in nature with field functional properties. In this article, lightweight polymeric nanocomposite coatings of continuous carbon nanofibers and magnetite (Fe3O4), as potential shielding material for the THz frequency band, have been prepared using a cost-effective conventional air-spray coating method. The obtained results are quite exclusive, as the sample with 40 wt % Fe3O4 outperforms at a very low thickness value of 540 μm, showing the highest SE value of ∼60 dB. These results are superior compared to the results obtained from most of the contemporary polymer composite materials, which usually provide good shielding at high thickness values in the mm range. Also, this study establishes that shielding performance of the polymeric hybrid nanocomposites (Fe3O4 + CNFs) is substantially better than a single nanocomposite CNF filler previously synthesized and characterized through the same approach.

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