Durable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding ramie fabric with excellent flame retardancy and Self-healing performance

Although more and more attention has been paid to electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding fabric materials due to increasing electromagnetic waves pollution, little attention to their fire safety behavior and durability in practical use. Herein, durable EMI shielding ramie fabric with flame retardant and self-healing performance were fabricated by depositing ammonium polyphosphate (APP)/polyethyleneimine (PEI) layer, MXene sheets and polycaprolactone (PCL) layer. The resultant multifunctional fabric could self-extinguish and the peak heat release rate (pHRR) value reduced about 74.3% for the modified ramie fabric that contains about 12 wt% of PEI/APP bilayer compared with pure ramie fabric. Furthermore, the ramie fabric coated by a increasing amount of MXene sheets changed from insulating to conductive, thus gradually improving their EMI shielding performance, which exhibit a high electrical conductivity of 900.56 S/m with an outstanding SE value of 35 dB at a 1.2 mg/cm(2) content in the X-band. Besides, When the multifunctional fabric was cut off under external force, it could achieve self-healing and the EMI shielding performance can recover to 34 dB due to the low melting point and good fluidity of PCL. Thus, this multifunctional fabric holds great promise for wearable intelligent cloth, EMI shielding and other fields. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.