LAUSR

Highly flexible, mechanically robust and ultra-thin Ni deposited onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) buckypapers (BPs) were fabricated via vacuum filtration and magnetron sputtering. The samples were characterized structurally using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray Diffraction. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of Ni deposited onto MWCNTs BPs with different deposition time (0, 30 and 60 min) were tested in frequency range of 2–18 GHz, including S-band, C-band, X-band and Ku-band. The 60 min Ni deposited onto MWCNTs BPs exhibited much higher EMI SE of average value up to 42.59 dB with the thickness of only 0.105 mm. Based on reliability study, the 60 min Ni deposited onto MWCNTs BPs retains 94.3% of its EMI SE after 500 cycles of mechanical bending. Therefore, the results and techniques promise a simple and effective approach to achieve light-weight and ultra-thin composite films for a wide application at the prospect of the field of EMI shielding.