Effect of phase morphology on electromagnetic interference shielding performance of silicone rubber/POE blends containing ILs modified MWCNTs

Abstract

Abstract Silicone rubber (SR)/polyolefin elastomer (POE) blends containing 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide ionic liquids (ILs) modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by melt blending and hot pressing. ILs can improve the dispersion of MWCNTs through cation-π interactions and MILs were localized within the SR phase. SR8/POE2/MILs and SR6/POE4/MILs nanocomposites exhibit sea-island and co-continuous structures, respectively. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance of the composites increased significantly with the increase of MILs content because MILs can form more conductive network and enhance the leakage current. Moreover, the shielding effectiveness (SE) of the co-continuous structured SR6/POE4/MILs composites is higher than that of sea-island structured SR8/POE2/MILs composites due to the uniform dispersion of MILs in co-continuous structure, which resulted in enhanced electrical conductivity. SR6/POE4/7MILs composite exhibited a tensile strength of 6.4\u202fMPa. The present study provides a novel and efficient route to prepare flexible nanocomposites with enhanced EMI shielding and superior mechanical performance.