A method of constructing highly durable conductive materials by growing metal particles inside and outside fibers through solvation and multivalent bonding forces

Metallized textiles have shown promising applications in the fields of electrical conductivity, Joule heating and electromagnetic shielding. Poor durability, especially washability, has hindered the commercialization process of these functional textiles due to the significant mechanical mismatch between rigid metal parts and textiles. This work constructed ultra-durable conductive cotton fabrics by growing copper nanoparticles with amorphous region-controlled swelling and multivalent bonding forces to complex the metal particles. The enlarged fiber amorphous zone and phenol-amine molecules are used as templates to provide further possibilities for the internal and external enrichment growth of copper nanoparticles, providing good conductivity and high durability of the processed cotton fabric. The created fabric exhibits excellent electrical conductivity (6.09 ± 0.36 × 10−3 Ω/sq), electrothermal conversion (60 s, 1 V, ~ 140 °C) and electromagnetic shielding efficiency (65.32 dB, 8.2–12.4 GHz). Notably, the electrical conductivity of the fabric remains essentially unchanged (Rs/R0 = 1.106) after 100 standard washing tests. This is attributed to the increase in metal particle loading and the enhancement of metal-fiber bonding fastness. Therefore, this work might provide a novel insight for constructing ultra-washable conductive clothing textiles with heating and EMI shielding performance.