Electrochemical
exfoliation of graphite is one of the most efficient
and easiest processes to produce high-quality graphene materials.
In this study, the efficiency of exfoliation methods for graphite
to develop graphene-based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shields
with high electrical conductivity was investigated. Exfoliation of
graphite was performed in four aqueous solutions of inorganic salts
of Na2SO4, (NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3, and (NH4)2HPO4, and the electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EEG)
was thoroughly screened to separate out the more defective and small
sheets. A 30 μm thick film composed of stacked and overlapped
co-doped EEG sheets prepared in (NH4)2SO4 had a room-temperature electrical conductivity of 28 400
S/m and an EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of ∼62 dB in
the X-band frequency (8.2–12.4 GHz), without any reduction
of EEG sheets. These are both high values compared to values reported
in the literature for “graphene” films with comparable
thickness. This is an excellent EMI SE for a shield thickness of just
30 μm, compared to the very thick initial graphite sheet’s
EMI SE of ≈70 dB with a thickness of 1.5 mm (50 times thicker).
An
original finding in this paper is that using the (NH4)2HPO4 electrolyte, we were able to prepare thermally
stable EEG films with excellent EMI performance (shielding effectiveness
of ∼50 dB after 3-day exposure to 500 °C in air). These
high values for overall EMI shielding and electrical conductivity
confirm the feasibility of electrochemical exfoliationfor high-performance
EMI shields; i.e. it is possible to use a method that does not involve
treatment with harsh chemicals or oxidizers and does not require high
energies or high temperatures.