Carbon nanohorn and graphene nanoplate based polystyrene nanocomposites for superior electromagnetic interference shielding applications

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article is reported the preparation of carbon nanohorn (CNH)/graphene nanoplates (GNP)/polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites through in‐situ bulk polymerization of styrene monomer in the presence of CNH, followed by the addition of suspension polymerized GNP/PS bead during polymerization of styrene, as next‐generation multifunctional material for high electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) applications. Morphological analysis revealed selective dispersion of CNH in bulk polymerized PS matrix, where GNP/PS beads were randomly distributed. The formation of continuous CNH–CNH conductive path and GNP–CNH–GNP or CNH–GNP–CNH conductive network throughout the PS matrix at exceptionally low loading of CNH (1.0 wt %) and GNP (0.15 wt %) leads to high electrical conductivity (6.24 × 10 −2 S cm −1 ) and EMI SE ∼(−24.83 dB) when the nanocomposites was prepared in the presence of 75 wt % GNP/PS bead. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42803.