Microwave absorption performance of nitrile butadiene rubber/ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber filled with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

In recent times, there is an increasing need for effective control of electromagnetic pollution, which can avoid excessive radiation effects on the human body. Microwave absorption materials are attracting wide research interests to reduce electromagnetic pollution due to the rapid development of electronic equipment. In this study, Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)/ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM) were mixed with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) to prepare microwave absorbing materials. The distribution of fillers, AC conductivity, complex permittivity, and microwave absorption performance of the composites were systematically investigated. It found that the AC conductivity, both real and imaginary parts of the permittivity were significantly improved in the composite with the increasing ratio of MWCNT contents. The NBR/EPDM/MWCNT composites with eight parts per hundred concerning with rubber (phr) MWCNT had a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -48.1 dB at the optimum thickness of 2.07 mm. Importantly, the adding sequence of MWCNT and plasticizer dioctyl phthalate (DOP) to the rubber matrix is found to play an important role in determining the distribution of fillers and the structure of polymer blends. The composite with plasticizer added before MWCNT exhibited a better impedance matching and as a result, achieved a good microwave absorption performance.