Effect of electromagnetic shielding on electron beam-cured multi-walled carbon nanotubes/epoxy composites

In this study, the electromagnetic interference shielding properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/epoxy composites were investigated in the frequency region from 1 approximately 8 GHz (L, S and C bands). Electromagnetic shielding samples were fabricated using an electron beam. The electromagnetic shielding properties of these absorber specimens were measured by a network analyzer (Agilent, 4901A), and their fracture behavior was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the saturation conductance depends on the fraction of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the composite, which affects the initial permittivity. These results show that the dielectric loss is a dominant factor in the L, S, and C bands, and the resonance frequency of the composite increased with the increasing fraction of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Finally, the reflection loss was calculated from the permeability and permittivity of these composites. Composite with 10 wt% multi-walled carbon nanotubes and 1.5 mm thickness showed a reflection loss below -20 dB in the L, S, and C bands. Therefore, it is believed that thin multi-walled carbon nanotubes/epoxy composites may be good candidates for microwave absorption applications.