Multilayer Ti3C2Tx MXene/graphene oxide/carbon fiber fabric/thermoplastic polyurethane composite for improved mechanical and electromagnetic interference shielding performance

The development of flexible electronics has placed higher demands on electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials, especially in terms of mechanical properties. Herein, a novel composite with excellent mechanical and EMI shielding properties was developed. The electrohydrodynamic atomization deposition approach was used to deposit Ti3C2Tx MXene and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets on carbon fiber fabric (CFf) surface, then they were assembled layer by layer with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and thermoformed at high temperature to obtain MG/f-CFf/TPU composite. When the MXene/GO content increases, the mechanical performance of the composite is improved, mainly owing to the formation of chemical bonds and the presence of mechanical interlocking and van der Waals forces. Specifically, the tensile strength and interlaminar shear strength of the composite reach 140.98 MPa and 54.67 MPa, increasing by 72.45 % and 52.92 %, respectively. Benefitting from the unique lamellar structure, the maximum EMI-SE of MG/f-CFf/TPU composite is 38.29 dB. Besides, the MG/f-CFf/TPU composite also displays outstanding EMI-SE stability after 3000 times folding cycles. The flexible MG/f-CFf/TPU composite may provide more guidelines for the design of next-generation flexible EMI shielding materials.