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MXene-Coated Liquid Metal Elastomers: Permeable, Stretchable, 3D-Printable Electromagnetic Interference Shielding
Yang Yang1, Qiang Ren2, Yuyang Shi1
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Development and Application for Metal-Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, P. R. China.
Nano Letters
|March 6, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed new permeable, stretchable, and 3D-printable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials using liquid metal and MXene. These advanced materials offer high performance for next-generation wearable electronics and soft robotics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Polymer Science
Background:
- Advanced electronic skins require materials with combined permeability, stretchability, and 3D printability for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.
- Existing materials often lack a combination of these essential properties, limiting their application in next-generation devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop multifunctional materials with excellent EMI shielding, high stretchability, permeability, and 3D printability.
- To address the challenges of liquid metal leakage and mechanical degradation in stretchable composites.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of MXene@LM/TPU elastomers using phase separation induced porosity (PSIP).
- Incorporation of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as a stretchable matrix, gallium-indium-tin liquid metal (LM) as conductive fillers, and MXene nanosheets for interface stabilization.
Main Results:
- The MXene@LM/TPU elastomers demonstrated high stretchability (∼471%) and outstanding EMI shielding effectiveness (87.0 dB).
- Materials exhibited excellent permeability without compromising mechanical robustness or inducing liquid metal leakage.
- The material maintained stable performance after 200% cyclic tensile strains and minimal degradation (<1% SE) after 500 bending cycles.
Conclusions:
- The PSIP strategy enables the creation of high-performance, multifunctional EMI shielding materials.
- These materials are suitable for 3D printing of shape-adaptive architectures for applications in wearable electronics, soft robotics, and human-interactive devices.
