Carbon nanohorn and graphene nanoplate based polystyrene nanocomposites for superior electromagnetic interference shielding applications

In this article is reported the preparation of carbon nanohorn (CNH)/graphene nanoplates (GNP)/polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites through in-situ bulk polymerization of styrene monomer in the presence of CNH, followed by the addition of suspension polymerized GNP/PS bead during polymerization of styrene, as next-generation multifunctional material for high electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) applications. Morphological analysis revealed selective dispersion of CNH in bulk polymerized PS matrix, where GNP/PS beads were randomly distributed. The formation of continuous CNH-CNH conductive path and GNP-CNH-GNP or CNH-GNP-CNH conductive network throughout the PS matrix at exceptionally low loading of CNH (1.0 wt %) and GNP (0.15 wt %) leads to high electrical conductivity (6.24 x 10(-2) S cm(-1)) and EMI SE approximate to(-24.83 dB) when the nanocomposites was prepared in the presence of 75 wt % GNP/PS bead. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.