Effects of ZrO 2 and ZnO nanoparticles on electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of PA6 ultrathin hybrid nanomembranes

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials for wearable applications should be flexible and thin. Ultrathin, flexible, polymer-ceramic hybrid nanomembranes (HNMs) were synthesized by the electrospinning method. The effects of the incorporation of zirconium oxide ZrO 2 and zinc oxide ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) within polyamid6 (PA6) fibers on the EMI shielding performance were evaluated. The ZrO 2 NPs changed the morphology of the fibers, whereas, ZnO intensified the crystallinity of PA6. Both additives enhanced the dielectric constant of the PA6 membrane. The results showed that the portion of the reflection was not changed, but the portion of the absorption of electromagnetic waves (EM) was increased by incorporating additives. An EMI shielding of 5.8 dB was achieved at a frequency of 4.8 GHz by an ultrathin PA6-ZrO 2 HNM with a thickness of 50 +/- 10 mu m. Findings highly suggest HNMs for wearable EMI shielding in 5th generation mobile network (5G) technology.