Preparing efficient self-healing polyimide coating for enhancing stability of electromagnetic interference shielding film

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding films were widely utilized in various electronic devices, but they were prone to damage and performance degradation in harsh environments. Therefore, it was urgent to maintain stable performance of EMI shielding films. In this work, we adopt the reactions between aldehyde-modified diamine monomers and dianhydride monomers with dynamic imine bond to successfully prepare a self-healing PI (SHPI) film. Benefit from dynamic imine and imide bond, the SHPI film possessed excellent thermal stability (T 5 % =527.7°C), tensile strength (72 MPa) and self-healing efficiency (94.4 %). As protecting coating layer, the SHPI film was able to maintain the commercial aluminized polyimide (PI/Al) film with good EMI shielding performance in acid environment. The electromagnetic shielding film with self-healing coating still had average EMI shielding effectiveness value of 44.5 dB after exposed to 10 % concentration nitric acid solution for 30 min. It is noteworthy that when damaged by external forces, the electromagnetic shielding film with self-healing coating could achieve rapid healing, while the tensile strength was up to 87 MPa and the self-healing efficiency reached 92.5 %. This work provided an effective self-healing protective layer for EMI shielding material against corrosion in acidic environments and damage from external pressures.