Printable Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Film with Outstanding Thermal Conductivity and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Performance

Zhihui Zeng; Gang Wang; Brendan F Wolan; Na Wu; Changxian Wang; Shanyu Zhao; Shengying Yue; Bin Li; Weidong He; Jiurong Liu; Joseph W Lyding

doi:10.1007/s40820-022-00883-9

Printable Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Film with Outstanding Thermal Conductivity and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Performance

Nanomicro Lett. 2022 Sep 1;14(1):179. doi: 10.1007/s40820-022-00883-9.

Authors

Zhihui Zeng¹, Gang Wang², Brendan F Wolan³, Na Wu⁴, Changxian Wang⁵, Shanyu Zhao⁶, Shengying Yue⁷, Bin Li¹, Weidong He⁶, Jiurong Liu⁸, Joseph W Lyding⁹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, Jinan, 250061, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. wangg3319@gmail.com.
³ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zürich), 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁵ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
⁶ Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überland Strasse 129, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
⁷ Institute for Advanced Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, People's Republic of China.
⁸ Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, Jinan, 250061, People's Republic of China. jrliu@sdu.edu.cn.
⁹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. lyding@illinois.edu.

Abstract

Ultrathin, lightweight, and flexible aligned single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) films are fabricated by a facile, environmentally friendly, and scalable printing methodology. The aligned pattern and outstanding intrinsic properties render "metal-like" thermal conductivity of the SWCNT films, as well as excellent mechanical strength, flexibility, and hydrophobicity. Further, the aligned cellular microstructure promotes the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding ability of the SWCNTs, leading to excellent shielding effectiveness (SE) of ~ 39 to 90 dB despite a density of only ~ 0.6 g cm^-3 at thicknesses of merely 1.5-24 µm, respectively. An ultrahigh thickness-specific SE of 25 693 dB mm^-1 and an unprecedented normalized specific SE of 428 222 dB cm² g^-1 are accomplished by the freestanding SWCNT films, significantly surpassing previously reported shielding materials. In addition to an EMI SE greater than 54 dB in an ultra-broadband frequency range of around 400 GHz, the films demonstrate excellent EMI shielding stability and reliability when subjected to mechanical deformation, chemical (acid/alkali/organic solvent) corrosion, and high-/low-temperature environments. The novel printed SWCNT films offer significant potential for practical applications in the aerospace, defense, precision components, and smart wearable electronics industries.

Keywords: Aligned film; Electromagnetic interference shielding; Flexible; Lightweight; Single-walled carbon nanotube; Thermal conductivity.