Synergistic Effect of Sandwich Layer of Carbon Nanotube Bucky Paper in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Laminated Composite for High‐Performance Mechanical and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

ABSTRACT The fabrication of high‐performance and lightweight composites is in huge demand, due to their excellent properties required for various applications. In this article, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminated composites with different wt.% of carbon nanofillers and bucky paper fabricated from MWCNTs are interleaved, the mechanical and electrical performance of the composites are studied. The hybrid composites demonstrated outstanding mechanical properties and superior electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness. The X‐ray computed tomography was used to determine the microstructure, delamination, and voids within the composites. The sandwich layer of BP/CFRP hybrid laminated composite showed significant improvement of 54.42% and 51.31% in flexural strength and flexural modulus respectively, compared to CFRP laminated composites. The BP reinforced interleaved CF reinforced hybrid laminated composites exhibited enhanced quasi‐static dynamic mechanical properties. The storage modulus increased markedly for the sandwich‐layered BCFRP (41.39 GPa), CBCFRP (40.14 GPa), and GBCFRP (31.76 GPa) composites, compared to that of only 19.74 GPa for the CFRP laminate composite. The shielding effectiveness in three frequency regimes was analyzed in the X, K, and Ku bands. The laminated composites exhibited total electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness values of 108.54 dB (BCFRP), 106.46 dB (0.3CCFRP), 105.38 dB (0.5GCFRP), and 104.67 dB (CFRP). Due to their outstanding mechanical and electromagnetic properties, the carbon nanofiller–interleaved CFRP laminated composites exhibit great potential for advanced civilian and military applications.