Enhanced Absorption-Dominant EMI Shielding Performance of Pyramidal Cementitious Composites Incorporating Recycled Plastics and Magnetite Minerals for 5G Applications

In this study, waste polypropylene (PP) and magnetite (Fe3O4) mineral-reinforced cement-based pyramidal composite structures were designed, manufactured, and experimentally characterized to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems in the 3.3–4.9 GHz frequency band for 5G communication systems. Unlike traditional planar concrete surfaces, the aim was to minimize surface reflections and obtain an absorption-dominant shielding mechanism by providing gradient impedance matching through the pyramidal geometry. Although the use of carbon-based nanomaterials is common in the current literature, their high cost and corrosion risks limit their large-scale applications. This study involves the evaluation of waste polypropylene disposal and self-enriching magnetite mineral together. Theoretical analyses were supported by the Lichtenecker Logarithmic Mixing Rule and the Maxwell–Garnett model, and seven different mixing scenarios (S1–S7) were measured using the free-space method with a Libre vector network analyzer. Experimental results showed that the pure concrete sample exhibited predominantly reflective behaviour, with shielding performance improving significantly as the filler ratio increased. The S4 sample, containing 15% PP and 10% magnetite, offered broadband and balanced absorption performance, while the S7 sample, containing 25% PP and 25% magnetite, provided the highest shielding effectiveness with reflection below −10 dB across the entire band and transmission loss reaching −65 dB.