Fabrication and assessment of a thin flexible surface coating made of pristine graphene for lightning strike protection

A thin flexible coating made of pristine graphene was fabricated and applied on the surface of a commercial carbon fiber epoxy prepreg laminate to protect it against the lightning strike. To assess the coating's effectiveness, the coated laminate was subjected to the simulated lightning strike as well as the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) testing. It was observed that the damaged area and volume in the coated laminate were reduced by 94% and 96%, respectively, as compared to the laminate without the coating. Moreover, the coated laminate had an average EMI SE of 51 dB over 100-2000 MHz range, 55 dB over 8-12 GHz range, and 60 dB over 12-18 GHz range marking 22%, 44%, and 49% improvement in EMI SE for each frequency range, respectively. The results indicate a great potential for the developed coating to protect the commercially available prepreg composites against the lightning strike.