Functional electrically conductive fabric with acceptable mechanical properties, which could be applied in electromagnetic shielding, was developed. Conductive cotton fabrics (cotton/PANI, cotton/Mn, cotton/Cu, and cotton/Co) were prepared by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization for (cotton/PANI) and pad dry curing method was used for nanometals application. The Nano size of the metals and polyaniline inclusion were proven through both Dynamic Liquid Scattering (DLS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) which showed an increase in crystallite density in unit space and the nanoparticles ranged from 100–200 nm. The effect of gamma irradiation on different treated cotton fabrics was investigated. The mechanical properties against irradiation dose showed an improvement up to 40 kGy, for all treated fabrics. On the other hand, Young’s modulus for untreated cotton recorded the lowest value, while cotton/Co recorded the highest one. Moreover, both AC (Alternating Current) and DC (Direct current) conductivities values can be calculated. In DC conductivity cotton/PANI was found to be more conducive than the remainder of the treated fabric by surface metallization with transition metals; while in AC conductivity cotton/Mn was found to be more conducive than the rest of the treated samples. The conductivity value increases by increasing the gamma irradiation dose for cotton/PANI fabric. Also, g-factor values can be estimated from ESR signals and vary from 0.009 up to 0.059 for conductive cotton fabrics; whilst cotton/Mn fabric has six hyperfine splittings, indicating that it is a paramagnetic element.

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In order to enhancement the antimicrobial properties and the thermal stability of the cotton fabrics for outdoor uses, they were coated with formulations of room-temperature vulcanizing silicone rubber (RTVSR)/synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). The coated fabrics were adjusted to different doses of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, which act as a crosslinking factor to the silicone rubber, rather than as a photocatalytic agent for enhancing the antimicrobial activity of the ZnO NPs. The synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM); meanwhile, its impurity was examined using energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis. The thermal stability and surface morphology of the coated fabrics were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the mechanical strength (MPa) of the coated fabrics was enhanced by ∼11% after UV irradiation for 120 min, accompanied by decrease in its swelling and solubility by ∼10 and 20%, respectively, as a result of UV crosslinking effect upon RTVSR. Meanwhile, the antimicrobial activity of the coated fabrics was enhanced by ∼50%, as a result of the photocatalytic effect of UV irradiation (120 min), at the constant percentage of 3% (ZnO NPs) in the coating formulations.

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