Multifunctional cotton non-woven fabrics coated with silver nanoparticles and polymers for antibacterial, superhydrophobic and high performance microwave shielding

Multifunctional cotton fabrics have attracted significant attention as next-generation wearable materials. Herein, we report a facile method for the fabrication of flexible and wearable cotton fabrics with ultra-high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, antibacterial, and superhydrophobic properties. Cotton fabrics were first coated chemically with silver nanoparticles using polydopamine as adhesive and then with hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane or polyimide. The introduction of polydopamine significantly increased the bond between silver nanoparticles and cotton fibers, thereby preventing silver nanoparticles from falling off the surface. The composite fabrics exhibited a high conductivity of ~1000 S/cm, and their EMI shielding effectiveness increased up to ~110 dB. The composite fabrics exhibited excellent self-cleaning performance and acid-alkali corrosion resistance because of their superhydrophobicity. Notably, the fabric composites showed a significant antibacterial action against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.