Synthesis of nickel particles for use in nickel/silicone rubber composites for the application of electromagnetic interference shielding gaskets

The effectiveness of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding is valuable for construction materials and can be enhanced by the addition of nickel particles to silicone rubber. This investigation reports the chemical reduction process employed to produce nickel powders. The resulting powders were analyzed through SEM imaging and X-ray diffraction analysis, which indicated the production of crystalline, pure nickel powders with spherical morphology. Subsequently, the study delves into nickel filler content enhances the shielding effectiveness (1.2–2.6 GHz) of gaskets by increasing the absorption loss SEA, due to the increase in electrical conductivity. The experimentation was conducted using three samples, revealing that increasing the weight percentage of filler from 30 to 70 % resulted in a considerable reduction in electrical resistivity to 0.6 Ω cm. Moreover, the shielding effectiveness was observed to increased to above 55 dBm when tested across a frequency range of 1.2–2.6 GHz.