Multifunctional fabrics based on copper sulfide with excellent electromagnetic interference shielding performance for medical electronics and physical therapy

Abstract

With the rapid development of medical electronics, remarkable electromagnetic interference shielding materials are designed extensively to weaken undesirable electromagnetic waves under a variety of conditions, while needing multifunctional applications. So far, it remains an urgent requirement to effectively construct electromagnetic interference shielding materials with photothermal antibacterial activity in the medical devices field. Herein, the low-cost, environmentally friendly, flexible, durable, and multifunctional PDMS@CuS@PSF fabric for medical electronics is manufactured via in-situ growth of copper sulfide (CuS) and then encapsulation of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Owing to the double advantages of semiconductor CuS with conductive and absorbing near-infrared light strongly, PDMS@CuS@PSF fabrics exhibit satisfying electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of 46 dB and outstanding photothermal conversion for sterilization. Benefiting from the encapsulation, PDMS@CuS@PSF fabrics further improve hydrophobicity and mechanical stability (>2000 cycles folding test). Besides, PDMS@CuS@PSF fabrics integrate functions of physical therapy and monitoring sensors simultaneously. Therefore, such high-performance fabrics based CuS offer facile substantial application prospects in medical electronic apparatus and physical therapy monitoring.