Multilayer joule heating and electromagnetic interference shielding composite fabric with high interfacial durability

Abstract

High-performance modern integrated intelligent wearable electronic textiles show excellent joule heating performance, electromagnetic interference shielding (EMI) and fire safety. In this work, cotton fabric as a biomass material is used as the framework. Due to its strong electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding, 3‑aminopropyl trethoxy silane (KH550) layer, silver nanowire (AgNW) conductive network and water-based polyurethane (WPU) protective layer are formed on the surface of cotton fiber for fabricating composite fabric (AgNW-10-W). Due to the perfect collaborative conductive network and porous fiber network structure, AgNW-10-W shows excellent EMI shielding effectiveness (53.9 dB, 1.3 mm thickness). Furthermore, the surface temperature of the joule heating composite fabric with AgNW as the conductive raw material can reach over 100 °C at an applied voltage of 2 V. Meantime, the composite fabric also shows good cycling and long-term joule heating performance. In the wear tests, the AgNW-10-W cotton fabric has good bending resistance and salt water resistance. It produces heat evenly on the human body's wrist joint and has a certain wear function. In the combustion performance test, the pHRR of AgNW-10-W cotton fabric was 31.3 % lower than that of pure cotton fabric. The work demonstrates the appeal of high-performance multifunctional electronic textiles for joule heating, electromagnetic shielding, and fire safety applications in AI and emerging wearable electronics.