Ultrathin MXene/aramid nanofiber composite paper with excellent mechanical properties for efficient electromagnetic interference shielding

TLDR: One-dimensional ANFs were designed as the intermolecular cross-linker between d-Ti3C2Tx flakes and MXene and exhibited excellent mechanical properties and superior electrical conductivity and showed potential application prospects as an advanced composite in sensitive electronic products.

Abstract: MXenes, new two-dimensional compounds with hydrophilic surfaces and high metallic conductivity, have attracted significant interest in the electromagnetic interference shielding field in recent years. Nevertheless, poor mechanical properties and brittle nature are bottlenecks for their commercial application. Herein, one-dimensional ANFs were designed as the intermolecular cross-linker between d-Ti3C2Tx flakes and MXene (d-Ti3C2Tx)/aramid nanofiber (ANF) composite paper with a multi-layered structure was fabricated via the vacuum-assisted filtration approach. Further investigation revealed that the ANFs and MXene displayed good combination by hydrogen bonding, and MXene/ANF composite papers exhibited excellent mechanical properties and superior electrical conductivity. The MXene/ANF composite paper possessed a favorable shielding effectiveness (SE) which reached ∼28 dB in 8.2-12.4 GHz (X band) with an ultra-thin thickness ∼17 μm and showed potential application prospects as an advanced composite in sensitive electronic products.