From waste to wealth: A critical review on advanced materials for EMI shielding

Solid waste generation has increased enormously due to development in a fast-moving world. Large amounts of industrial and agricultural waste are either incinerated or subject to landfilling, accounting for increasing air and water pollution. The 3 "R"s of waste management, reduce, reuse, and recycle, in most cases, deduce themselves to a theoretical topic. However, a stage has reached where the primary importance should be given to waste management and sustainable development where reprocessing the materials into new functional materials helps to reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials and reduces various forms of pollution. In this context, this review focuses on eliminating adverse environmental impacts of solid wastes by using various industrial by-products and bio-wastes as raw materials for EMI (Electromagnetic interference) shielding applications. In this review, we covered the sources, effects of electromagnetic radiation, mechanism, and factors affecting EMI shielding, synthesis of shielding materials derived from animal waste, agricultural waste, paper waste, fly ash, rubber waste. Thus, this review opens up novel opportunities by upcycling waste materials from multiple sources into highly efficient shielding materials.