Electromagnetic interference shielding and absorption properties of Ti₃SiC₂/nano Cu/epoxy resin coating

In this study, we prepared Ti₃SiC₂/nano Cu powders by a facile electroless plating method. XRD confirmed the successful preparation of the Ti₃SiC₂/nano Cu powders and SEM images showed their morphology. Then a weight ratio of 60 wt% hybrid powders with various amount of Cu were composited with epoxy resin to fabricate Ti₃SiC₂/nano Cu/epoxy resin absorbing coating. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and absorption properties of the coatings were investigated. As the content of nano Cu increases from 0 to 30 wt%, EMI effectiveness rises from 14 dB to 27 dB. The real and imaginary part of complex permittivity also increase with the rising Cu content. An effective absorption bandwidth is obtained in the frequency range of 9.6–12.4 GHz for the coating containing 20 wt% nano Cu with a thickness of 1.8 mm. The minimum reflection loss value is −37 dB at 11.37 GHz. The encouraging results make a contribution to exploration of absorbing coating with light weight, wide absorption bandwidth, thin thickness and high absorption efficiency.