Preparation and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Performance of TPU/MWCNT/BiFeO3 Composites

The rapid advancement of information technology and pervasive use of electronic devices has exacerbated electromagnetic radiation pollution and interference, driving the demand for lightweight, flexible, and high-efficiency electromagnetic shielding materials in materials research. As a high-performance elastomer, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) possesses excellent elasticity, wear resistance, oil resistance and processability, making it promising for flexible electronics and wearable devices. However, pure TPU is electrically insulating and exhibits nearly no electromagnetic shielding capability, which requires conductive filler incorporation for functional modification. Herein, ternary TPU/MWCNT/BiFeO3 composites were fabricated via solution blending and hot pressing, using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) as conductive and dielectric fillers within the TPU matrix. The effects of filler content on the microstructure, thermal stability, mechanical properties and electromagnetic shielding performance of composites, together with the relevant mechanisms, were systematically studied. For the ternary TPU/MWCNT/BiFeO3 system, the introduction of BiFeO3 continuously increases the char residue rate of the composites to 16.01%, while accelerating the reaction process during the main thermal decomposition stage. The mechanical properties gradually deteriorate with the increase in BiFeO3 content, and the composite with 5 wt% BiFeO3 almost loses its elastomeric characteristics. The electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) presents a trend of initial increase and subsequent decrease. The composite with 3 wt% BiFeO3 exhibits the optimal shielding performance, with a 24.7% enhancement in total SE compared with the reference TPU/MWCNT composite containing 1% MWCNT. This improvement is attributed to the interfacial polarization and dipole polarization induced by the appropriate amount of BiFeO3, which effectively strengthen the electromagnetic wave absorption loss capacity of the composites.