Microwave absorbing properties of polyaniline coated Buckypaper reinforced epoxy resin composites

Abstract

With the development of science and technology and electronic industry, electromagnetic wave pollution has become the fifth largest pollution in the world today, so it is very important to develop a material with good wave absorbing properties. In this study, polyaniline was loaded onto the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) bundles in Buckypaper by electropolymerization, and epoxy resin was used as the matrix to prepare a polyaniline (PANI)/Buckypaper/EP composite absorber with integrated structure and function. The research shows that the CNTs are prepared into Buckypaper with a three‐dimensional porous structure by vacuum filtration. This three‐dimensional porous structure ensures that CNTs can be added at a high content and uniformly dispersed in epoxy resin. PANI adjusts the impedance matching of Buckypaper and adds more loss mechanisms. Under the optimal matching thickness of 1.5 mm, the optimal reflection loss reaches −29.31 dB, and the absorption bandwidth is 3.12 GHz. At the same time, the interaction between the π–π noncovalent bond of PANI and the delocalized π electrons on the surface of CNTs improves the mechanical strength of Buckypaper. The tensile strength reached 42.17 MPa, an increase of 92.82% compared with pure BP/EP. The research in this article is expected to provide a feasible idea for the preparation of structure–function integrated materials.

Tribological properties of carbon nanotube/polymer composites:A mini-review

“…Comparing with the other fillers, such as PTFE, graphite, UHMWPE, carbon fiber etc., CNTs exhibit some unique features, i) CNTs not only show the self-lubricating effect (low COF), but also strengthen the polymer, indicating the CNTs/polymer composites have low COF and mass loss, and these excellent overall performances make CNTs/polymer composites are more adaptable for mechanical parts (Golchin et al, 2016;Sakka et al, 2017;Chen et al, 2018). ii) CNTs also are other fillers for fabricating functional polymer conposites, for example, the network of CNTs can act as the electrical conductive paths and mass transfer barrier for improving the electrical conductivity, electromagnetic shielding, fire retardance and water-resistance of polymer composites (Kashiwagi et al, 2005;Spitalsky et al, 2010;Xia et al, 2022).…”