Copper-coated carbon fiber composites for electromagnetic interference shielding applications

Carbon fiber (CF)/metal hybrids possess excellent electrical and mechanical properties, making them promising as lightweight functional materials. However, one of the main challenges in their application is the poor affinity between carbon fiber and metals. In this study, copper (Cu)/CF composite wires were prepared using a combination of CF surface modification and Cu electrodeposition. The electrodeposition pre-seeding on surface modified CF improved the quality of the electroplated Cu coating, resulting in more uniform subsequent deposition of Cu on the CF surface. The prepared Cu/CF composite wire exhibits a high electrical conductivity 2.3 x 107 S m-1 based on single fibers. Furthermore, the above approach can be applied to fabricate Cu-coated CF fabrics. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the Cu/CF fabrics is 83.1 dB, approximately 30 dB higher than that of pristine CF fabrics.