3D printed bio composites for EMI shielding application

Electromagnetic (EM) waves are becoming more prevalent due to the rapid development of electronics, which pose serious risks to human health, electric devices, and the environment1,2. In order to overcome the above problems, engineering and fabrication of multifunctional EM shielding materials are indispensable. Thus, recently, a wide spectrum of materials ranging from metals to soft conductive materials such as hydrogels, with the majority being focused on exploring EM interference (EMI) shielding materials with lightweight properties, flexibility, and excellent shielding performance3–7. However, due to the high electrical conductivity of the mentioned materials, resulting in high impedance mismatches, these shields reflect a main portion of the incident wave, producing secondary pollution. So, developing high-efficiency EMI shielding with a strong absorption performance remains a tremendous challenge. However, EMI shielding based on an absorption mechanism can be effectively enhanced by controlling the structure (macro and micro-scale) of the shields8,9. By constructing three-dimensional (3D) porous conductive networks and controlling the macro-scale structures, an efficient strategy can alleviate the impedance mismatching and result in lower shielding effectiveness by reflection (SER) value10,11.
Hence, two major approaches are available to improve shielding effectiveness (SE) and control the shielding mechanism.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mohammad Arjmand

Student:

Partner:

Harvard University

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of British Columbia - Okanagan

Program: