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Solution printable multifunctional polymer-based composites for smart electromagnetic interference shielding with tunable frequency and on–off selectivities

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Abstract

The advances in modern intelligent electronic systems have a pressing need for smart electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding capabilities in a frequency-selective manner to choose which electromagnetic waves in a certain range to be blocked. Herein, we present multilayered EMI shielding composites that can provide selective on–off characteristics for specific frequency ranges across a broad spectrum. The composites are composed of outermost dielectric layers and conductive interlayers fabricated via solution printing, wherein hexagonal boron nitride (BN) and silver-coated BN particles are embedded, respectively. The EMI shielding frequency range and on–off selectivity are controllable by varying the configuration of the composite structure in terms of the BN content and the number of composite layers, providing different interstitial spaces between the fillers and interfacial dielectric properties. Furthermore, the optimal combination of these layers permits excellent combinatorial properties of EMI shielding effectiveness (32–62 dB), thermal conductivity (7.61 W/m·K), and electrical insulation (4.03 kV/mm) in the through-plane direction. The developed composites and their synthetic pathways have enormous potential for tailored material design and flexible system integration in next-generation EMI shielding technologies.

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Funding

This work was supported by the project from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research/AOARD (grant number: FA2386-22–1-0041), which was efficiently facilitated and technically advised by Dr. Tony Kim, the project’s PO. We also appreciate the instrumental and financial support from the Technology Innovation Program (KEIT-20013794, MOTIE).

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Author notes

  1. Mina Seol and Uiseok Hwang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Mina Seol, Uiseok Hwang, In-Kyung Park, Jonghwan Suhr & Jae-Do Nam

  2. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Uiseok Hwang

  3. Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Junyoung Kim & Jae-Do Nam

  4. School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Deokjoon Eom & Hyoungsub Kim

  5. School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Jonghwan Suhr

Authors
  1. Mina Seol
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Correspondence to Jae-Do Nam.

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Highlights

• Silver@boron nitride/boron nitride/polyetherimide multilayered composites were developed using solution printing.

• Electromagnetic interference shielding frequency and on-off selectivity could be deliberately tuned by modifying the filler and composite layer design.

• Composites concurrently exhibited excellent EMI shielding effectiveness (32–62 dB), high thermal conductivity (7.61 W/m·K), and electrical insulation (4.03 kV/mm).

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Seol, M., Hwang, U., Kim, J. et al. Solution printable multifunctional polymer-based composites for smart electromagnetic interference shielding with tunable frequency and on–off selectivities. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 6, 46 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-022-00609-w

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