Preparation and Characterization of Polyvinyl Alcohol Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes Electrospun Nanofibers for EMI Shielding Application

Abstract

Nanofibers of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) exhibit very good properties of tunable electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, flexibility and shielding effectiveness. This research work focuses on the synthesis of nanofibers of polyvinyl alcohol and multiwall carbon nanotubes composites to achieve a shielding material. The PVA/MWCNT composite nanofibers were prepared using electrospinning method. Different samples having different concentration of MWCNTs were prepared to achieve nanofibers of different electrical conductivities. Four samples with MWCNTs concentration of 0 %, 5 %, 10 % and 15 % by weight were prepared. The prepared samples were characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), optical spectroscopy (OS) and Vector Network Analysis (VNA) techniques. The band gap analysis reflects that the electrical conductivity of the nanofibers increases with the increase in the concentration of MWCNTs. The S parameters are used for the calculation of shielding effectiveness of the material. Results show that by increasing the concentration of MWCNTs in the composite nanofibers the electrical conductivity and hence the shielding effectiveness of the nanofibers increases.