Excellent electromagnetic interference shielding of multi-layered thermoplastic poly-urethane nanocomposites with CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and graphite

This work presents the design and development of multi-layered polymer-based nanocomposites that effectively block electromagnetic (EM) radiation by incorporating magnetic CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) and conductive graphite on a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix. The sonochemical method was employed to produce CoFe₂O₄ NPs with a high degree of purity. The melt mixing process followed by compression molding was utilized to generate individual layers of TPU containing CoFe₂O₄ NPs (F-TPU) and graphite (G-TPU) at a thickness of around 0.8 mm. Further, three mono-layers of either F-TPU or G-TPU were stacked in an identical and alternating fashion to create TPU-based multi-layered nanocomposites F/F/F, G/G/G, F/G/F, and G/F/G, respectively. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) total shielding effectiveness (SE_T) in the X-band frequency range of 8.2–12.4 GHz was investigated and observed to be 3.7 dB, 33.8 dB, 23.9 dB, and 54.0 dB for F/F/F, G/G/G, F/G/F, and G/F/G, respectively. This research offers a guide for engineers looking to create superior EMI shielding materials, which have potential uses in radar security and information communications.