Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness and microwave absorption properties of thermoplastic polyurethane/montmorillonite-polypyrrole nanocomposites

In this work, thermoplastic polyurethane‐filled montmorillonite‐polypyrrole (TPU/Mt‐PPy) was prepared through melt mixing process for using in electromagnetic shielding applications. The effect of conducting filler content and type, sample thickness, and X‐band frequency range on the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) and EMI attenuation mechanism was investigated. A comparative study of electrical and microwave absorption properties of TPU/Mt‐PPy nanocomposites and TPU/PPy blends was also reported. The total EMI SE average and electrical conductivity of all Mt‐PPy.Cl or Mt‐PPy.DBSA nanocomposites are higher than those found for TPU/PPy.Cl and TPU/PPy.DBSA blends. This behavior was attributed to the higher aspect ratio and better dispersion of the nanostructured Mt‐PPy when compared with neat PPy. Moreover, the presence of Mt‐PPy into TPU matrix increases absorption loss (SEA) mechanism, contributing to increase EMI SE. The total EMI SE values of nanocomposites containing 30 wt% of Mt‐PPy.DBSA with 2 and 5 mm thickness were approximately 16.6 and approximately 36.5 dB, respectively, corresponding to the total EMI of 98% (75% by absorption) and 99.9% (88% by absorption). These results highlight that the nanocomposites studied are promising materials for electromagnetic shielding applications.