Microwave response properties of epoxy resin composites filled with graphitic fillers

Composite materials based on epoxy resin filled with various kinds of graphite particles: exfoliated graphite (EG), natural graphite, and coarse, medium and fine artificial graphites have been prepared. The dielectric permittivity strongly increases with graphite particle size. This effect is related to the distance of the investigated filler concentrations to the composites' percolation threshold. Microwave experiments show that exfoliated graphite is, out of investigated graphite particles, the only one being a really effective additive for producing electromagnetic (EM) interference (EMI) shielding: 2 wt.% epoxy/EG is absolutely opaque to electromagnetic radiation at 30 GHz.