High‐electromagnetic‐shielding cotton fabric prepared using multiwall carbon nanotubes/nickel–phosphorus electroless plating

High‐electromagnetic‐shielding cotton fabric (CF) was prepared using carboxyl‐functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs‐COOH)/nickel–phosphorus (Ni‐P) electroless plating. Firstly, MWCNTs‐COOH was loaded on CF used to chelate the metal catalyst followed by electroless plating to impart outstanding electrical conductivity and electromagnetic shielding properties. The intermediate MWCNTs‐COOH layer not only improves the bonding strength via the chelating effect, but also can be used as a conductive material. This synergistic action of MWCNTs‐COOH and Ni‐P layer can work together to improve the electromagnetic interference shielding performance. The features of Ni‐P/MWCNTs‐COOH/CF were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The resulting Ni‐P/MWCNTs‐COOH/CF fabrics show high surface resistance of 1.66 Ω sq −1 and robust electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of 40.2 dB. Furthermore, benefiting from the strong interface interaction, the as‐prepared composite fabrics retain stable performances after undergoing a series of physical and chemical tests, confirming promising practical applications even under harsh conditions.