Composites Made of Waste Face Masks, Microplastics, and Carbon Nanotubes: Electromagnetic Shielding Properties

Abstract

Nowadays, effective measures are needed to reduce the harm caused by electromagnetic pollution and microplastic (MP) pollution in a water environment. Besides, since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, people have made a lot of progress in the recycling of waste face mask (FM) pollution. However, so far, no publications are available in the literature that simultaneously solve the problem of MP pollution, electromagnetic pollution, and FM pollution. Herein, FMs, polyethylene MPs (PE MPs), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used to fabricate EMI shielding composites with an isolated conductive network structure via the adhesion ability of polydopamine (PDA). The effects of isolated conductive networks, different sizes of PE MPs, and different layers of FMs on the adsorption behavior of FMs–PDA–CNT, as well as electrical performance for the obtained PP–PDA–CNT composites, were studied. The composites displayed the EMI SE for 25.9 dB in the X-band with a 3 wt % CNT content due to the isolated conductive network structure, which may be useful to the simultaneous elimination of garbage from the electromagnetic pollution, FM pollution, and MP pollution to a certain degree.