Electromagnetic interference shielding behaviors of electroless nickel-loaded carbon fibers-reinforced epoxy matrix composites

In this work, carbon fibers were electrolessly Ni-plated in order to investigate the effect of metal plating on the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMI-SE) of Ni-coated carbon fibers-reinforced epoxy matrix composites. The surfaces of carbon fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electric resistance of the composites was tested using a 4-point-probe electric resistivity tester. The EMI-SE of the composites was evaluated by means of the reflection and adsorption methods. From the results, it was found that the EMI-SE of the composites enhanced with increasing Ni plating time and content. In high frequency region, the EMI-SE didn't show further increasing with high Ni content (Ni-CF 10 min) compared to the Ni-CF 5 min sample. In conclusion, Ni content on the carbon fibers can be a key factor to determine the EMI-SE of the composites, but there can be an optimized metal content at a specific electromagnetic frequency region in this system.