A facile approach for coating Ti3C2Tx on cotton fabric for electromagnetic wave shielding

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding fabric is widely used to deal with radiation pollution. However, the traditional EMI shielding fabrics are limited by their reflection-dominated shielding mechanism, large loading and poor shielding performance. Herein, Ti3C2Tx coated cotton fabrics with low Ti3C2Tx loading (1.5-2.6mg/cm(2)) were prepared through a facile vacuum filtration process. Ti3C2Tx coated cotton fabric exhibits excellent electrical conductivity (up to 1570S/cm), EMI SE (up to 48.9dB) and superior shielding efficiency (up to 2969dBcm(2)/g) with a low Ti3C2Tx loading (2.6mg/cm(2)) in the frequency of 2-18GHz. Especially, Ti3C2Tx coated cotton fabric shows high ratio of absorption shielding efficiency (SEA)/reflection shielding efficiency (SER) (>9) in the frequency of 2-13.5GHz, indicating that the dominant shielding mechanism of Ti3C2Tx coated cotton fabrics is microwave absorption of EM radiation. Additionally, the Ti3C2Tx coated cotton fabric exhibits a high tensile strength (up to 70N) and fracture elongation (up to 18.3%). The result suggests that the Ti3C2Tx coated cotton fabric is a superior absorption-dominated EMI shielding material. The Ti3C2Tx coated cotton fabric with low loading, robust, and highly conductive properties can be regarded as an alternative electromagnetic wave absorbing material. [GRAPHICS]