Flexible, ultrathin and light films from one-dimensional nanostructures of polypyrrole and cellulose nanofibers for high performance electromagnetic interference shielding

Tomáš Lapka; Jarmila Vilčáková; Dušan Kopecký; Jan Prokeš; Marcela Dendisová; Robert Moučka; Michal Sedlačík; Fatima Hassouna

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120662

Flexible, ultrathin and light films from one-dimensional nanostructures of polypyrrole and cellulose nanofibers for high performance electromagnetic interference shielding

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Jun 1:309:120662. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120662. Epub 2023 Feb 8.

Authors

Tomáš Lapka¹, Jarmila Vilčáková², Dušan Kopecký¹, Jan Prokeš³, Marcela Dendisová¹, Robert Moučka², Michal Sedlačík², Fatima Hassouna⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
² Centre of Polymer Systems, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic.
³ Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, 180 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic.
⁴ Faculty of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic. Electronic address: fatima.hassouna@vscht.cz.

PMID: 36906374
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120662

Abstract

Combining highly conducting one-dimensional nanostructures of polypyrrole with cellulose nanofibers (CNF) into flexible films with tailored electrical conductivity and mechanical properties presents a promising route towards the development of eco-friendly electromagnetic interference shielding devices. Herein, conducting films with a thickness of 140 μm were synthesized from polypyrrole nanotubes (PPy-NT) and CNF using two approaches, i.e., a new one-pot synthesis consisting of in situ polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of structure guiding agent and CNF, and a two-step synthesis, in which CNF and PPy-NT were physically blended. Films based on one-pot synthesis (PPy-NT/CNF_in) exhibited higher conductivity than those processed by physical blending, which was further enhanced up to 14.51 S cm^-1 after redoping using HCl post-treatment. PPy-NT/CNF_in containing the lowest PPy-NT loading (40 wt%), thus the lowest conductivity (5.1 S cm^-1), displayed the highest shielding effectiveness of -23.6 dB (>90 % attenuation), thanks to the good balance between its mechanical properties and electrical conductivity.

Keywords: Cellulose nanofibers; Composite films; Electrical conductivity; Electromagnetic interference shielding; Polypyrrole nanotubes.