Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (7): 100272.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2026.100272

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Selective thermal radiation polyimide composite fabric for efficient infrared stealth and electromagnetic protection

Kaixin Lai1, Ke Wang1, Xinwei Tang1, Tian Sun1, Yan Li2, Zhiwei Hu1, Wei Li1, Wei Hong1, Wenkai Chen1, Xinyi Jiang1, Zicheng Wang1,*(), Tianxi Liu1,*()   

  1. 1 The Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, International Joint Research Laboratory for Nano Energy Composites, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
    2 Jiangsu Ferrotec Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., Yancheng 214000, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Received:2026-01-28 Revised:2026-02-20 Accepted:2026-02-27 Published:2026-05-22
  • Contact: Email: wangzc@jiangnan.edu.cn (Zicheng Wang)txliu@jiangnan.edu.cn (Tianxi Liu)

Abstract:

The low emissivity of traditional metal across the entire infrared spectrum causes excessive heat accumulation on the infrared stealth materials. It leads to an abnormally elevation in surface temperature, restricting the optimization of infrared stealth performance. In this paper, a robust selective thermal radiation polyimide composite fabric (PA66/Ni@PI) is prepared by integrating wet-chemical metallization with polyamide 66 (PA66) coating on the surface of polyimide fabric (PI). A silver-activated electroless nickel plating effectively promotes the formation of conductive network with low infrared emissivity. Benefited from the existence of unique polyamide structure, the high transmittance of PA66 coating in 3–5 and 8–14 μm facilitates the expression of low-emissivity performance in Ni@PI, while the high absorptance of that in 5–8 μm endows PA66/Ni@PI with high emissivity for radiative cooling. As a result, an optimal infrared stealth performance can be successfully achieved under selective thermal radiation. Meanwhile, the formation of a continuous conductive nickel plating brings excellent electromagnetic interference shielding performance. Such outstanding comprehensive performance makes it possible for PA66/Ni@PI to become a potential candidate with competitive advantage in military camouflage.

Key words: Polyimide, Fabric, Selective thermal radiation, Infrared stealth, Electromagnetic protection