Ultralight, highly flexible and conductive carbon foams for high performance electromagnetic shielding application

A light-weight, highly flexible and conductive carbon foam with a 3D interconnected network is prepared by direct carbonization of melamine foam. Electrical conductivity of the foam can be tuned by adjusting the carbonization procedure and can reach 177 Sm−1. The carbon foam has a density of 6.15 mgcm−3 with a porosity of ~ 99.6%. Besides, the foam is highly flexible, and can sustain repeated deformations and recover. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) property of the foam is strongly dependent on the electrical conductivity and the thickness of the foam. The EMI SE of the foam with a thickness of 1 mm can reach 23 dB at X band, and the specific EMI SE can be as high as ~ 3800 dBcm3g−1.

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