Electrical and magnetic network design for improving electromagnetic interference shielding performance of waterborne polyurethane fabrics

[Display omitted] •The EMI SE of PU/10Ni@CNTs/10CNTs fabric reaches 77.2 dB.•The synergy of electrical, dielectric, and magnetic loss caused excellent EMI SE.•CNTs and Ni@CNTs weave into a stable electrical and magnetic permeability network. Waterborne polyurethane (WPU) fabrics containing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Ni coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Ni@CNTs) were successfully fabricated through emulsion mixing and drop-coating method. Carbon-based nanofillers were distributed in the conformal WPU matrix and fabric substrate, and intertwined with each other to form electric/magnetic network. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of PU/10Ni@CNTs/10CNTs fabric reaches 77.2 dB, batter than that PU/20CNTs fabrics due to the synergistic effect of electrical, dielectric, and magnetic loss.