High-efficiency electromagnetic interference shielding capability of magnetic Ti3C2Tx MXene/CNT composite film

Abstract

Highly conductive Ti₃C₂T_x MXene-based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials have shown great application potential in facing the increasingly serious electromagnetic radiation threat but are limited by their single-loss mechanism. Here, to enrich the wave loss mechanism, magnetic Ti₃C₂T_x MXene and conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been assembled into a flexible “brick-mortar” layered NiCo/MX–CNT film to simultaneously obtain high conductivity and strong attenuation capacity. Interestingly, by combining the strong attenuation ability of the magnetic NiCo/MX and high conductivity of CNTs, as well as the dense stacking “brick-mortar” layered structure, 99.99999991% (90.7 dB of EMI shielding effectiveness, SE) of the electromagnetic waves can be reflected and absorbed by the NiCo/MX–CNT composite film with only 53 μm thickness, which is one of the best shielding effects achieved and is superior to that of pure CNT film (∼71 dB) and pure MXene film (∼61 dB), even if they have higher conductivity. Moreover, the composite film can realize EMI shielding property modulation from 46 to 105 dB by adjusting the film thickness from 9 to 116 μm. The dense stacking “brick-mortar” layered structure endows the composite film with excellent flexibility, foldability, and robust mechanical properties, which significantly improve the practical potential in complex application environments.