Low-temperature treated polypyrrole coated cotton fabrics for efficient electromagnetic interference shielding

Conductive polymer coatings have exhibited great potential for wearable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding fabrics. Here, we report an efficient yet simple strategy to improve EMI shielding performances of polypyrrole (PPy) coated fabrics by the low-temperature in-situ polymerization of Py. The PPy coating polymerized at 0 °C results in a uniform and compact microstructure which confers the coated fabric with better air permeability, flexibility and lighter weight than the PPy modified fabric obtained at higher temperature. Moreover, the low-temperature treatment of PPy coated fabric enhances its electrical conductivity due to a high doping level of PPy. The EMI shielding performance of PPy coated fabric polymerized at 0 °C reaches 26.4 dB, demonstrating 63.47% enhancement of that fabricated from 20 °C at the same deposition cycle. In addition, the PPy coated fabric obtained from low temperature demonstrates more stable and durable EMI shielding properties than that obtained at high temperature. This work provides insights into fabricating conductive polymer composites with high EMI performances for intelligent integrated equipment as well as human health protection.