Cellulose aerogels decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes: Preparation, characterization, and application for electromagnetic interference shielding

Abstract

Electromagnetic wave pollution has attracted extensive attention because of its ability to affect the operation of electronic machinery and endanger human health. In this work, the environmentally-friendly hybrid aerogels consisting of cellulose and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated. The aerogels have a low bulk density of 58.17 mg·cm-3. The incorporation of MWCNTs leads to an improvement in the thermal stability. In addition, the aerogels show a high electromagnetic interference (EMI) SEtotal value of 19.4 dB. Meanwhile, the absorption-dominant shielding mechanism helps a lot to reduce secondary radiation, which is beneficial to develop novel eco-friendly EMI shielding materials.