High-Performance Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Electrodes/Substrates for Wearable Electronics

Rapid development of wearable electronics creates demands to fulfill requirements such as shielding electromagnetic radiation to reduce its harmful side effects on humans and electronic equipment. Here, wearable substrates/electrodes were fabricated through simple and cost-effective fabrication procedures showing high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding and excellent antibacterial activities. Silver nanoparticles were sputtered on one side and graphene oxide (GO) was sprayed on the other side of a nylon/polyester fabric, followed by chemical reduction. The durability of the modified fabric was investigated under mechanical deformation. A high electrical conductivity of the fabric causes great microwave attenuation in the X-band and part of the S-band. Electrochemical performances of the composites as electrodes in wearable electronics were investigated. The antibacterial activities of the modified fabrics were excellent against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the modified fabrics showed great durability even after 50 washing cycles. Having high-performance microwave shielding and biocidal properties makes an Ag/reduced GO fabric a potential candidate to be used as wearable electronics.