Effect of nanoparticles and ion implantation on the electromagnetic shielding of glass-epoxy composites

The research on electromagnetic (EM) shielding has been advanced for various applications. Recently, researchers have been interested in nano-sized particles to modify electromagnetic properties of a base material. In this research, glass fiber-epoxy-nanoparticle composites (GFR nanocomposites) are fabricated using four types of nanoparticles, and their properties in electromagnetic shielding are compared. Carbon black (CB), multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), silver nanoflake (SNF), and silver nanopowder (SNP) are used as the added particles. For the visual observation of the nanocomposites, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) are used. The characteristics of EM shielding of the composites are measured using HP8719ES S-parameter Vector Network Analyzer System for the frequency range between 8 and 12 GHz. Composites using MWCNT and CB show outstanding shielding effect of 17 and 43 dB, respectively, but silver nanoparticles do not show significant EM shielding. In addition, change of EM shielding characteristics by the ion implantation process is observed. After ion implantation, the EM shielding of the composites containing silver is increased in the frequency range.