Lightweight and High-Performance Carbon Nanotube Fabrics for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials are critical for protecting sensitive electronic devices from external interference. Traditional metallic shields suffer from high density, rigidity, and poor adaptability to complex circuitry. This study presents a lightweight, flexible carbon nanotube (CNT) fabric with superior EMI shielding performance, fabricated through scalable CNT fiber preparation and knitting of CNT yarns. The CNT fibers exhibit a specific tensile strength of 25.3 cN/dtex and an electrical conductivity of 3634.2 ± 114.0 S/cm. The resulting CNT fabric achieves an EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 66.8 dB for a single layer and 111 dB for multiple layers, while maintaining an ultralow density of 0.2 g/cm³. The fabric withstands repeated bending and washing without significant degradation. When applied as the EMI shielding layer in coaxial cables, the CNT fabric delivers signal transmission performance comparable to copper while reducing the shielding layer mass by 32.1%. These combined properties position CNT fabric as a viable alternative to conventional metal-based shielding materials, with potential applications in aerospace, electronics, and wearable technologies.