Preparation of highly conductive silver-plated porous wood

Abstract A recent research focus has been on developing sustainable and renewable high-performance electromagnetic shielding materials. We present here a robust and effective top-down method in which polydopamine (PDA) is added to delignified wood via in situ polymerization, and Ag particles are successfully deposited in the wood channel via PDA’s adhesive property with a subsequent silver mirror reaction. According to our findings, when the AgNO3 content is 30 g/L, the conductivity of 2-mm-thick conductive wood reached 500 S/cm with an electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency of 50 dB in the X-band. The three-dimensional network structure of the wood is preserved, and thus it has good mechanical properties. Hence, silver-plated wood can be used as an electromagnetic shielding material that requires high strength. Graphical Abstract