Electrically Conductive and All-Weather Materials from Waste Cross-Linked Polyethylene Cables for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Abstract

With the explosive growth of intelligent devices, low-cost multifunctional materials will be in great demand in the near future. Preparation of flexible polymer composites from waste plastics can not only reduce the production cost but also alleviate the environmental concern. Herein, the thermoplastic polymers from waste cross-linked polyethylene (CLPE) cables were efficiently recycled by partially breaking the cross-linking points in the solid state and, thus, fully utilized in the low-cost, high-strength, and allweather electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. Briefly, with the assistance of the homemade solid-state shear milling (S3M) reactor, the waste CLPE cables were converted into fine micropowders at a large scale. The obtained decross-linked CLPE powders were coated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and then the coated complex particles were compacted together during the microwave sintering process. In this way, the segregated structure with CNTs selectively enriched at the interfaces of the CLPE phases was successfully constructed by taking full advantage of the selective heating mode of the microwave and the remaining crosslinked structure in CLPE. The sintered CLPE/CNTs containing 7.0 wt % CNTs exhibit an electrical conductivity of 22.6 S/m and an EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of 35.0 dB, respectively. More importantly, the resulting composite shows superior stability in electrical and EMI shielding properties even under extreme conditions, such as acid/alkali solution soaking and repeated bending deformation. The segregated CLPE/CNT composite also shows excellent mechanical properties with tensile strength above 20 MPa and elongation at a break of 280%. This interfacial engineering strategy offers an effective method to convert the unrecyclable waste plastic into value-added materials, showing great significance in resource recycling utilization.

From waste to wealth: A critical review on advanced materials for EMI shielding

“…Xie et al 36 waste cross‐linked polyethylene (CLPE) cables for all‐weather EMI shielding application. The waste cables were converted into powders using a S 3 M reactor.…”

Multifunctional starch/carbon nanotube composites with segregated structure: Electrical conductivity, electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness, thermal conductivity, and electro‐thermal conversion

“…[4][5][6][7] CPCs have been widely used in the electronics industry, such as electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, [8][9][10] sensors, 11,12 wearable electronic devices. 13,14 To achieve high electrical conductivity, researchers fabricate advanced CPCs by introducing conductive fillers such as carbon black, 15,16 graphite, 17,18 graphene, 19,20 carbon nanotube (CNT), 21,22 and carbon fiber 23 into the polymer matrix. However, the high content of conductive fillers will make the processing difficult, lead to high costs, and impair the mechanical properties of the matrix.…”

From Waste to Value Added Products: Manufacturing High Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Composite from End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Waste

“…Several studies focused on developing EMI shielding materials by recycling polymer waste. For instance, Xie et al [ 27 ] prepared flexible polymer composites from cross-linked polyethylene (CLPE) cable waste and CNT filler that showed an EMI SE of 35 dB with a tensile strength above 20 MPa and elongation at a failure of 280%. Zhang et al [ 28 ] demonstrated a high EMI SE of 63.2 dB by adding 6.6 wt% of MWCNTs in waste polyurethane foams.…”