Unification of thermal conductivity, electrical insulation, and electromagnetic shielding: A bulk thermal conductive polymer from solid waste

[Display omitted] •TC, insulation, and EMI shielding were achieved simultaneously by SBS.•Magnetic minerals and polymers are skillfully combined through SBS.•Green and cost-effective PS-S@5SBS/Pyr85 was prepared by waste and tailings.•The bidirectional bridge model was established with SBS. In the context of the ongoing advancements in high-performance chips, heat dissipation, and electromagnetic shielding within electrical and electronic equipment are becoming increasingly intricate. Plastics have garnered widespread usage in electrical and electronic equipment as prevalent framework materials. However, the challenge persists in achieving a unification of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal conductivity (TC), and electrical insulation performance for plastics. Herein, we capitalize on the styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) copolymer to integrate the merits of polymers and magnetic minerals. Utilizing pyrrhotite (Pyr) tailings and waste polystyrene (PS) as raw materials, a formable block material denoted as PS-S@SBS/Pyr has been formulated. This material exhibits commendable performance in terms of TC, electrical insulation, and EMI shielding performance concurrently. The bidirectional bridging effect of SBS effectively reduces the interfacial thermal resistance between PS and Pyr. The TC of PS-S@SBS/Pyr can reach a maximum of 1.36 W/m‧K with a resistivity greater than 108 Ω‧m. Moreover, PS-S@SBS/Pyr consistently demonstrates a stable EMI shielding effectiveness of 33.1 dB within the 8–12 GHz frequency range, with absorption shielding predominating as the underlying mechanism. This green preparation method makes efficient utilization of two main solid wastes while increasing the added value of the material.