Achieving acceptable electromagnetic interference shielding in UHMWPE/ground tire rubber composites by building a segregated network of hybrid conductive carbon black

Polymeric composites with the hybrid filler network for high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding brought increasing interest. Herein, UHMWPE/ground tire rubber (GTR)/conductive carbon black (CCB) (UGC) composites with a hybrid segregated structural CCB-GTR were constructed by solid-phase shear milling ((SM)-M-3), mechanical blending, and compacted molding processes. The percolation behavior of electrical conductivity and EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of composites was described using Sigmoidal/Growth models, and its EMI shielding mechanism was discussed. Results showed that the EMI SE of U(30)G(70)C(20), U(50)G(50)C(20), and U(70)G(30)C(20) composites were found to be 37.5, 41.7, and 43.8 dB, respectively, due to constructing a hybrid network. The attenuation rate of microwave radiation is above 99.99%, and the shielding mechanism is mainly electrical loss. Moreover, the relationship between electrical conductivity and EMI SE is consistent with Sigmoidal/Growth models, indicating that Sigmoidal/Growth models can successfully predict the percolation threshold of the EMI SE of UGC composites.