Synergistically enhanced the EMI shielding performance and mechanical properties of UHMWPE-based composites through constructing a bio-inspired interface bridge between polydopamine and HGM

The rapid advancement of digitization and informatization has highlighted the significance of polymer-based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composites. However, there has been a notable scarcity of efforts to enhance EMI shielding performance and mechanical properties in the backdrop of conductive polymer composites (CPCs). Herein, we present a novel approach utilizing bio-inspired polydopamine (PDA) chemically modified hollow glass microspheres (HGM), referred to as PDA@HGM, in conjunction with carbon nanostructures (CNS), to fabricate functional ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composites. These composites are synthesized using a mechanical mixing and hot-pressing method. Experimental outcomes provide insights into the influence rules of PDA@HGM incorporation on mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and EMI shielding performance of composites. It is determined that the PDA@HGM inclusion is observed to enhance EMI shielding performance of the composites by decreasing reflection and increasing absorption loss. Profited from the biomimetic interfacial reinforcement provided by the PDA, the total EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of PDA@HGM5 composite can be increased by 27 % with the highest value of 49.8 dB (12.4 GHz). Moreover, this obtained composite demonstrates an acceptable tensile strength, which can reach up to 32.31 MPa and outperforms to other unmodified HGM composites. This investigation further incorporates a comprehensive analysis, encompassing XPS, FT-IR, TGA, EDS, and FE-SEM, to systematically reveal the underlying mechanisms of HGM and PDA@HGM incorporation on EMI SE. Overall, these enhanced PDA@HGM composites demonstrate significant promise for the development of the high-performance lightweight CPCs.