Regular-wrinkling tunable MXene lattice for electromagnetic interference shielding

Protecting sensitive equipment from electromagnetic radiation damage requires the development of high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding films. As the film thickness is reduced to micro/nano scales, EMI generally falls off rapidly due to the film’s weaker reflection. As a result, enhanced EMI shielding performance in sub-µm thin films remains an unsolved challenge. Inspired by the naturally wrinkling of fruit skin, we propose a homogeneous strain strategy to achieve self-wrinkling-induced lattice-structured MXene by uniform polymer shrinkage due to dehydration. Uniform wrinkle amplitude can be tuned from 0.8 to 6 µm, which results in additional surface scattering of electromagnetic-waves and electrical conduction paths. The obtained lattice-structured films demonstrate an excellent EMI shielding of up to 81.5 dB for a thickness of 17 µm, maintaining high EMI shielding performance and stability after enduring various harsh testing conditions. These results demonstrate the potential of wrinkling-induced, surface regular patterns for improving the EMI shielding performance of ultra-thin films based on conventional materials.