The electromagnetic interference shielding of silicone rubber filled with nickel coated carbon fiber

In this paper, nickel coated carbon fiber (Ni-CF) was obtained by an electroplating method. The Ni-CF was used as conductive filler in silicone rubber for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. The effect of Ni-CF content on the volume resistivity and shielding effectiveness (SE) of the silicone rubber composites was investigated. The results indicated that the nickel coated carbon fibers mixed in the silicone rubber were randomly oriented and cross-linked with each other to form a three-dimensional conductive pathway network. The volume resistivity of the composite decreased and SE was enhanced with increase of the Ni-CF content. When the Ni-CF content reached 80 phr, the volume resistivity reached 0.042 Ω cm, while the SE values of the silicone rubber composite were typically about 80 dB across the tested frequency range from 30 MHz to 1200 MHz.