From Waste to Functional Materials: A Multifunctional\nElectromagnetic Interference Shielding Composite from Waste Rock Wool

Abstract

Electromagnetic\ninterference (EMI) shielding materials are effective\nin eliminating unwanted electromagnetic interference and reduce the\npotential harm to human health. Among them, the EMI shielding materials\nfabricated from wastes but with multiple functions are particularly\nattractive. However, it is always a great challenge to integrate multiple\nfunctions into one EMI shielding material, especially when using the\nwastes as raw materials. Here, a multifunctional EMI shielding composite\nwas fabricated from waste rock wool, which is one of the fast-growing\nsolid wastes in the world. The waste rock wool was converted into\na valuable EMI material by simply dip-coating the rock wool into a\ngraphene oxide aqueous dispersion and a following chemical reduction\nby hydrazine hydrate. The obtained rock wool/reduced graphene oxide\n(RW-rGO) composites showed excellent EMI shielding performance (>25\ndB) and good hydrophobicity (water contact angle >130°). Moreover,\nthe RW-rGO composites exhibit good thermal insulation and fire-retardant\nability. We believe that the strategy for fabricating RW-rGO composites\nnot only provides an effective way to solve the problem of waste rock\nwool pollution but also can promote the large-scale manufacturing\nof multifunctional EMI shielding materials.