Abstract: The techniques of electroless copper plating and electroless nickel plating for fiber textiles have been proposed on the basis of an orthogonal design test. With the electroless plating techniques, ordinary textiles can be reformed to the metal/fabric composite material, which has the desired electrical conductivity and EMI/RFI (Electromagnetic and Radio Frequency Interference) shielding property. The metal/fabric composite material possesses the ideal EMI/RFI shielding effectiveness as 50~70 dB within the frequency range from 10kHz to 12GHz. The shielding effectiveness will not reduce obviously when service environment (e.g. temperature, humidity, pH value of medium, erodent ion, etc.) changes, that is to say, the composite fabric has a good environment stability. Moreover, the same good shielding effectiveness can be obtained when the composite material is pressed into resin-based composite in the form of a layer. The proposed techniques are suitable for various fabrics, e.g. glass fabric, polyester fabric, silk, cotton, etc., and have advantages of simple processing and low cost. In view of the above features, the techniques are expected to have a bright future in applied fields.

Key words: EM I/R F I sh ielding, fabric, elect ro less p lat ing