Bio-inspired flexible versatile textiles for excellent absorption-dominated electromagnetic interference shielding, thermal management, and strain sensing

Multifunctional flexible textiles are urgently required for wearable electronics and military equipment. However, it remains a big challenge for them to achieve absorption-dominated electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and maintain excellent multifunctionalities. Herein, inspired by hierarchical structure of muscle, a novel multilayer self-assembly strategy was proposed to conformally deposit conductive substances and absorption fillers on flexible textiles to realize superior versatility in EMI shielding, thermal management, and strain sensing. The formed muscle-like nanostructure was composed of Ag nanoparticles, Ag nanowires, MXene, and FeCo-C. Benefiting from the 3D cross-linked stable networks with high conductivity (14075.3 S·m−1), durable EMI shielding (85 dB after stretching and bending), and excellent electrical heating (116.3 °C under 1.8 V) were achieved. Based on robust electrostatic interaction between FeCo-C and MXene, strong EMW absorption was realized with a low reflection coefficient (0.168). The textile also demonstrated excellent strain sensing performance in a linear range of 5–60 % with a fast response time (121 ms) for complex motion detection. Besides, the textiles had good gas permeability, ensuring long-term wearable comfortability. This work offers a significant paradigm to construct multifunctional flexible textiles for next-generation integrated flexible electronic devices and military equipment with practical applications.