Pholidota-Inspired Electronic Skin Possessing Terahertz-Wave Reflection-Absorption-Transmission Switchability

The escalating complexity of electromagnetic environments demands intelligent materials capable of real-time adaptive electromagnetic responses to reconcile conflicting requirements for stealth, transmission, and shielding. Current electromagnetic protection systems face two bottlenecks: static material characteristics limit the active switching of reflection (R), absorption (A), and transmission (T) states, and the contradiction among the three hinders their dynamic coexistence. To address this challenge, a self-adaptive reflection-absorption-transmission switchable electronic skin (RATS-E-skin) was designed to harmonize perception with terahertz-wave switchability. Inspired by pholidota, the RATS-E-skin combines flow-deformable liquid metal, graphene sheets, and iron oxide nanorods into a ternary architecture. This system overcomes the intrinsic incompatibility among RAT mechanisms through strain-mediated microstructural reconfiguration, enabling the four-state reversible switching of terahertz-wave reflection (32.4 dB shielding), absorption (60.2 dB reflection loss), transmission (up to 76.7%), and secondary reflection (50.8 dB shielding). Critically, the material achieves multimodal sensing with resistance sensitivity and cyclic stability, and in response to external demands, it issues deformation instructions, verifies the deformation state after the equipment executes the action, and thus forms a closed-loop adaptation to precisely switch the corresponding electromagnetic functions. This bioinspired approach shows potential for deformable equipment armor and multifunctional wearable systems in both civilian and defense applications.