High-electromagnetic-shielding cotton fabric prepared using multiwall carbon nanotubes/nickel–phosphorus electroless plating

High-electromagnetic-shielding cotton fabric (CF) was prepared using carboxyl-functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH)/nickel–phosphorus (Ni-P) electroless plating. Firstly, MWCNTs-COOH was loaded on CF used to chelate the metal catalyst followed by electroless plating to impart outstanding electrical conductivity and electromagnetic shielding properties. The intermediate MWCNTs-COOH layer not only improves the bonding strength via the chelating effect, but also can be used as a conductive material. This synergistic action of MWCNTs-COOH and Ni-P layer can work together to improve the electromagnetic interference shielding performance. The features of Ni-P/MWCNTs-COOH/CF were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The resulting Ni-P/MWCNTs-COOH/CF fabrics show high surface resistance of 1.66 Ω sq⁻¹ and robust electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of 40.2 dB. Furthermore, benefiting from the strong interface interaction, the as-prepared composite fabrics retain stable performances after undergoing a series of physical and chemical tests, confirming promising practical applications even under harsh conditions.