Improved microwave absorption and electrostatic charge dissipation efficiencies of conducting polymer grafted fabrics prepared via in situ polymerization

Polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPY) were grafted over cotton fabrics by in situ polymerization. FTIR spectra show systematic shifting of bands corroborating surface grafting of conducting polymers on cotton fabric. SEM images revealed that the surface coating of PANI was smoother than PPY. However, better control over coating thickness and uniformity was achieved in PPY fabric. The probable formation mechanism of grated fabrics has also been proposed. The good thermal stability and acceptable electronic conductivity values indicate that these fabrics could be used for electrostatic charge dissipation and microwave absorption. The antistatic studies have shown complete charge dissipation (decay time <0.01 sec). The microwave absorption studies of the conducting fabrics in X‐band (8.2–12.4 GHz) show absorption dominated total shielding effectiveness in the range ?11.3 to ?11.7 dB (>92% attenuation) and ?9.2 to ?9.6 dB (>88% attenuation) for fabrics grafted with PPY and PANI, respectively. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.