Highly conductive, breathable and magnetic MXene/Fe3O4/PEDOT:PSS coated carbon cloth for high-efficiency electromagnetic interference shielding

To protect against the harmful effects of electromagnetic waves, the development of thin, lightweight, breathable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with high electromagnetic shielding efficiency (SE) is crucial for flexible and wearable electronic devices. In this paper, a breathable, highly conductive, and high EMI shielding performance magnetic MXene/Fe3O4/PEDOT:PSS (MFPP) coated carbon cloth (MFPP/CC) composite is prepared by a facile manufacturing strategy. MXene/Fe3O4 facilitates the conductivity of the composite coatings and increases the ferromagnetic loss mechanism. The introduction of PEDOT:PSS not only improves the stability of MXene but also enhances the bonding strength between MXene/Fe3O4 and CC. When the mass ratio between MXene, Fe3O4, and PEDOT:PSS is 25:10:5, the resulting MFPP/CC composite has an excellent conductivity of 7281.3 S/m at a rather low thickness of 0.465 mm, realizing an outstanding EMI shielding performance of 86.19 dB with a very high SE/t value (1853.6 dB/cm). Furthermore, the MFPP/CC composite exhibits paramagnetic properties, excellent air permeability, and a high retention rate (>87 %) of EMI shielding performance against continuous physical and chemical damage. Therefore, this study provides crucial insights into the advancement of ultrathin and breathable EMI shielding polymer coatings for application in the flexible wearable electronics industry.