Development of polyvinylidene fluoride-graphite composites as an alternate material for electromagnetic shielding applications

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-graphite composites have been developed using solution mixing with uniform dispersion of micro-fillers within the PVDF polymer matrix for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. A conductive network of flake shaped graphite particles is formed within the PVDF polymer layers which improved the electrical conductivity of the composite thus providing promising EMI shielding properties. Conductivity of the composite increased by several orders of magnitude on graphite (80 wt%) incorporation in the PVDF (i.e. from 3.41 × 10−13 S cm−1 to 120 S cm−1). A high effective dielectric constant ( ′ = 294.75 at a frequency of 8.2 GHz) has also been obtained for the PVDF-graphite composite having 80 wt% graphite. A high absorption dominated total shielding effectiveness value of ∼98 dB has also been achieved at a frequency of 8.2 GHz for the above mentioned composite. The results are promising for using the PVDF-graphite composite as EMI shielding material in the X-band frequency.