title: Mussel-inspired polydopamine coated hollow carbon microspheres, a novel versatile filler for fabrication of high performance syntactic foams.
abstract: Syntactic foams, which can be synthesized by mechanical mixing of hollow microspheres with a matrix material, are a special class of lightweight composite materials. Developing of high-performance syntactic foams remains challenges. In this work, a facile and environmentally friendly surface modification method employing polydopamine (PDA) as a surface treatment agent for hollow carbon microspheres (HCMs) was used, aiming to extend the application of syntactic foams to seldom touched areas. The PDA coating was used as a strategy for interfacial interaction enhancement and also as a platform for further metal coating meant for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. The stronger interfacial interaction between microspheres and polymer matrix provided effective interfacial stress transfer, as a result of the syntactic foams with high strength to weight ratio. Furthermore, the PDA coating on HCMs served as a versatile platform for the growth of noble metals on the surface of PDA-HCMs. Silver nanoparticles was grown by PDA medium. The silver coated HCMs (Ag-PDA-HCMs) impacted the complex permittivity of the syntactic foams leading to high EMI shielding effectiveness (SE). The specific EMI SE reached up to 46.3 dB·cm(3)/g, demonstrated the Ag-PDA-HCMs/epoxy syntactic foam as a promising candidate for lightweight high-performance EMI shielding material.
authors.affiliation: Temasek Laboratories, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637553, Singapore.
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Sunanda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Eng Kee
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: Kye Yak
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: See
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D049872:Bivalvia; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D007211:Indoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D066192:Manufacturing Industry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008863:Microspheres; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007211:Indoles; D011108:Polymers; C568283:polydopamine; D002244:Carbon
keywords: EMI shielding; interface; polydopamine; silver; syntactic foam