Fabrication of flexible, lightweight, magnetic mushroom gills and coral-like MXene-carbon nanotube nanocomposites for EMI shielding application

Abstract

MXenes, carbon nanotubes, and nanoparticles are attractive candidates for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. The composites were prepared through a filtration technique and spray coating process. The functionalization of non-woven carbon fabric is an attractive strategy. The prepared composite was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Raman spectroscopy. The MXene-oxidized carbon nanotube-sodium dodecyl sulfate composite (MXCS) exhibited 50.5 dB (99.999%), and the whole nanoparticle-based composite blocked 99.99% of the electromagnetic radiation. The functionalization increased the shielding by 15.4%. The composite possessed good thermal stability, and the maximum electric conductivity achieved was 12.5 S·cm−1. Thus, the composite shows excellent potential applications towards the areas such as aeronautics, mobile phones, radars, and military.