Structural–Functional Integrated Graphene-Skinned Aramid Fibers for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding
Quanfen Guo, Huihui Tian, Yao Cheng, Shijun Wang, Zhaolong Li, Hao He, Jiayi Liu, Kun Jiao, Xin Gao, Jin Zhang
Abstract
Structural–functional integrated polymer fibers with exciting properties are increasingly important for next-generation technologies. Herein, we report the structural–functional integrated graphene-skinned aramid fiber (GRAF) featuring high conductivity, high strength, and light weight, which is weaved for efficient electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Graphene was self-assembled onto the surface of aramid fibers through a dip-coating strategy using an aramid polyanion (APA) as the binder and the etchant. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results show that the binding energy of the APA-modified aramid chain and graphene (1.3 J/m 2 ) is superior to that of the aramid chain and graphene (0.2 J/m 2 ). The APA has a higher surface energy (55.2 mJ/m 2 ) and can etch the fiber surface, forming grooves, which enables effective adsorption and self-assembly of graphene onto the fiber surface. The GRAF exhibits a high conductivity of 1062.04 ± 116.78 S/m, along with excellent strength (4.66 ± 0.16 GPa) and modulus (106.33 ± 8.21 GPa), outperforming most reported conductive composite fibers (e.g., natural fibers, polymer-based fibers, inorganic fibers, etc.). The weaved functional fabric using the structural–functional integrated GRAF shows an EMI shielding efficiency (SE) of up to 67.86 dB in the X-band and can rapidly heat up to 200 °C within 40 s at 12 V voltage. In addition, the GRAF fabric can maintain its electrical conductivity after a long-term washing, showing excellent washing resistance. This study demonstrates an effective method to fabricate structural–functional integrated materials and shows the promise of carbonene fibers for EMI shielding.