Author: Faiz Ahmad - November 2020
Saba Ayub, Beh Hoe Guan
The electromagnetic inference is a problem for a longer span. Various composites were formed to eliminate this problem by developing electromagnetic shielding material. For this purpose, a systematic review was performed to provide a general understanding of graphene and iron-based composites as a shielding material. Scopus database was selected to extract the articles with the only limitation to consider only those articles which were written in the English language. The interpretation of the articles revealed that most of the researchers have worked on the X-band frequency range, where still, there is a need to work on a higher frequency range. Also, the inclusion of polymers into graphene and iron showed promising results, yet still, need further exploration.
The searching was made through the Scopus database where the selected keywords combination was: "Graphene", "Iron", "EMI" AND "Shielding". The only limitation applied was the English language on articles, conference papers and review papers. Considering these limitations, 58 articles were extracted which were further screen out. To assure the quality of the articles, a duplication check was made, where none of them was found repeated. Afterwards, a thorough read was given to the abstract of the articles, based on which 33 articles were shortlisted. Later, full article reads were performed and at the end, only 22 articles were left for interpretation.
Enhanced EMI Shielding Solutions: The combination of graphene and iron materials has shown to provide superior thermal stability, conductivity, and impedance matching, leading to more effective EMI shielding solutions compared to traditional materials.
Broad Industrial Applications:Effective EMI shielding is crucial in various industries, including electronics, automotive, aerospace, and healthcare. The materials discussed in the article could lead to advancements in these fields, ensuring safer and more reliable electronic systems.
Economic and Societal Benefits:With the growing need for EMI shielding solutions, the materials discussed in the article could lead to significant economic opportunities. Companies developing these advanced composites could see substantial market growth.
Environmental Impact:Graphene, derived from graphite, and iron are relatively abundant and could be considered more sustainable compared to some traditional EMI shielding materials. This could lead to more environmentally friendly solutions in the long term.
Polymer-based composites play important role in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. With this combination "Fe3O4@RGO@TPU", it has been reported that the filler content plays a vital role in enhancing electromagnetic shielding effectiveness in a composite material [25]. Reduced graphene oxide combines with iron oxide "FeO@rGO", by using chemical reduction method and the natural FeO nanoparticles by using appropriate characterization technique, it was observed that the combination gives better shielding effectiveness as compared to iron oxide due to both reflection and absorption phenomena [30]. Fe3O4@GNP hybrids were synthesized by using in-situ by a simple co-precipitation technique and were included into the epoxy matrix by melt blending process which gave 9.6 dB shielding effectiveness in the X-band frequency range by increasing the content ratio of GNP, where the thickness was kept as 1 mm [39]. Cellulose@rGO@Fe3O4 was prepared by using scalable coprecipitation process with the loading of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) which vary from 3-8%, providing the shielding effectiveness of 49.4-52.4 dB, where the thickness varied between 0.5-2 mm [33]. Fe3O4@NrGO@epoxy used for achieving electromagnetic shielding effectiveness where the magnetite iron and nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide "Fe3O4@NrGO" was prepared by using the hydrothermal method and later was dispersed in the epoxy matrix by using mechanical mixing technique. The shielding effectiveness of -26 dB with 1 mm thickness was achieved at 8 GHz frequency range [24]. PEDOt@rGO@SrFe12O19 was fabricated by in-situ emulsion polymerization, in result it gave electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of 42.29 dB at 12 GHz, X-band frequency range, where the thickness of the sample was 2.5 mm [37]. In-situ hollow iron graphene foam and polydimethylsiloxane "GF/h-Fe3O4/PDMS" was prepared by adopting a facile solvothermal method where it gave high electromagnetic shielding effectiveness which was 70 dB at 8.2-12.4 GHz frequency range [21].
rowing EMI Concerns:The increase in electronic devices has led to a rise in EMI, which negatively impacts data communication and human health. As the proliferation of electronic devices is inevitable, there is a growing need for effective EMI shielding solutions.
Current EMI Shielding Materials:The review highlights graphene and iron-based composites as promising materials for EMI shielding. These materials are noted for their conductive and magnetic properties, thermal stability, conductivity, impedance matching, and absorption properties.
Research and Development: Systematic Review Findings: Out of 58 articles reviewed, 22 showed significant results using graphene and iron composites. Most research was focused on the X-band frequency range, with promising results indicating potential for high shielding effectiveness.
Industry Demand and Applications:The electronics industry is a major consumer of EMI shielding materials, with applications in smartphones, laptops, and other consumer electronics.
Potential Market Size and Growth: The global EMI shielding market is expected to grow due to the increasing use of electronic devices and the rising awareness of EMI-related health risks.