Selective and Preferential Distribution of Conductive Carbon Filler in Co‐Continuous Thermoplastic Elastomeric Blend Composites for Efficient Thermal and Electrical Conductivity With Enhanced Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effectiveness
ABSTRACT Electromagnetic radiation has become an enormous concern due to the extensive boost in the communications and electronics industry. To mitigate the impact of electromagnetic radiation and heat, researchers are focusing on creating electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding material. This work presented a flexible thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) composite using Vulcan carbon black (VCB) as a filler to achieve enhanced electrical conductivity and EMI shielding effectiveness. The composites were prepared by melt mixing, incorporating varying weight percentages of VCB into a low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene‐octene copolymer (EOC) binary blend. Selective localization of VCB in the LDPE phase facilitated a double percolation network, significantly improving conductivity. The percolation threshold was attained between 20 and 30 wt% VCB, leading to the formation of a continuous conductive network. At 30 wt% loading, the composites exhibited a thermal conductivity of 0.46 W m −1 K −1 and excellent EMI shielding effectiveness, reaching −26 dB in the X‐band and −24 dB in the K u ‐band. Alongside these electrical and thermal improvements, the composites maintained good mechanical integrity and thermal stability. These findings demonstrate that LDPE/EOC‐based VCB nanocomposites are lightweight, flexible, and high‐performance candidates for EMI shielding applications in modern electronic devices.
Authors
- Narayan Chandra Das (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5945-7457)
- Jasomati Nayak
- P. Banerji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8504-3071)
- Sangit Paul (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0332-023X)
- S. Giri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1103-2601)
Institutions
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Polymer Composites
- Published
- 2025-10-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.70508
- Primary Topic
- Electromagnetic wave absorption materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00