Sulfur doped graphene/polystyrene nanocomposites for electromagnetic interference shielding

In this paper, for the first time, we present a simple and straightforward method to improve not only electrical conductivity and complex permittivity but also electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites through sulfur doping. Sulfur-doped reduced graphene oxide with thiophene-like structure (2.6at.% S), synthesized through a simple heating process of a mixture of graphene oxide and sulfur powder, revealed almost three times larger electrical conductivity (1095Sm^-1) than undoped rGO (395Sm^-1). The SrGO/PS nanocomposite showed not only 150% larger electrical conductivity and 50% larger complex permittivity, but also improved EMI shielding effectiveness (24.5dB) at a frequency of 18GHz than rGO/PS nanocomposite (21.4dB) at the same loading level of 7.5vol.%. Considering the simplicity and effectiveness of process, sulfur doping of graphene is expected to be used as a versatile method to improve EMI shielding efficiency of graphene/polymer nanocomposites.