Elastic composites fabricating for electromagnetic interference shielding based on MWCNTs and Fe3O4 unique distribution in immiscible NR/NBR blends

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding rubber nanocomposites were fabricated via a simple rubber roll milling technique based on the filler distribution behavior in the immiscible natural rubber (NR) and acrylonitrile-butadiene (NBR) (50/50) blends with varying amounts of multiwall carbon nanotubes and Fe3O4 nanoparticles. All nanocomposites showed a co-continuous phase structure, while the distribution behavior of filler was diverse correlated with the filler content and type. The mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, and EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of rubber composites were characterized. The maximum EMI SE of 29.4 dB at 12.4 GHz was achieved in the rubber composites loaded with 15 phr MWCNTs and 15 phr Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The EMI shielding mechanisms of such materials were also discussed. The observation in this work provided a possible idea to the industrial manufacture electromagnetic interference shielding rubber nanocomposites, and contributed to expanding its application fields with higher mechanical property requirements and flexibility.