Mechanically strong and multifunctional metallized carbon fiber reinforced poly(phenylene sulfide) composite for extreme environmental tolerant electromagnetic shielding

Designing a mechanically strong and environmentally adaptable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding polymer composite is highly desirable but remains a significant challenge. Herein, an efficient and multifunctional silver (Ag) decorated carbon fiber (CF) cloths reinforced poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) EMI shielding composite (CF-PDA@Ag/PPS) with superior mechanical strength, extreme environments tolerance, and comprehensive properties is achieved via a unique silver-sulfur coordination reaction-induced heterogeneous interface enhancement strategy. By metalizing the CF cloths with uniform Ag coating through polydopamine (PDA) intervened in-situ thermal reduction approach, a strong heterogeneous interface interaction can be established between the CF and PPS matrix through the synergies of PDA-Ag chelation and silver-sulfur coordination reaction during the thermal laminate molding process, leading to a highly efficient EMI shielding effectiveness of over 70 dB, exceptional tensile strength around 350 Mpa from −40 °C to 100 °C range, marvelous corrosion resistance and fire resistance, good anti-friction and wear-resistant properties along with the excellent low-voltage driven Joule heating performance. Our work provides a feasible strategy to develop robust and multifunctional EMI shielding composites which are highly promising for conferring durable EMI protection to next-generation electronics in extreme environments.