Flexible and Highly Conductive AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS Functionalized Aramid Nonwoven Fabric for High‐Performance Electromagnetic Interference Shielding and Joule Heating

Abstract

AbstractHigh‐performance multifunctional textiles are highly demanded for human health‐related applications. In this work, a highly conductive nonwoven fabric is fabricated by coating silver nanowires (AgNWs)/poly(3,4‐ethyl enedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) on a poly(m‐phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) nonwoven fabric through a multistep dip coating process. The as‐prepared PMIA/AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS composite nonwoven fabric shows an electrical resistance as low as 0.92 ± 0.06 Ω sq−1 with good flexibility. The incorporation of the PEDOT:PSS coating layer improves the adhesion between AgNWs and PMIA nonwoven fabric, and also enhances the thermal stability of the composite nonwoven fabric. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and Joule heating performances of the PMIA/AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS composite nonwoven fabric are also investigated. The results show that the average EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of the single‐layer nonwoven fabric in X‐band is as high as 56.6 dB and retains a satisfactory level of SE after being washed, bended, and treated with acid/alkali solution and various organic solvents. The composite nonwoven fabric also exhibits low voltage‐driven Joule heating performance with reliable heating stability and repeatability. It can be envisaged that the multifunctional PMIA/AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS nonwoven fabric with reliable stability and chemical robustness can be used in EMI shielding devices and personal thermal management products.