Ultrathin, flexible CNTs@MXene film fabricated with electrophoretic deposition method for high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding

Lightweight flexible composite films are widely used in the field of smart and wearable devices due to efficient electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness in the wide frequency domain and excellent mechanical properties. Herein, the CNTs@MXene composite films with excellent mechanical properties and EMI effectiveness were prepared by electrophoretic deposition method on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) substrate. By optimizing the experimental parameters, the optimal deposition time was determined to be 15 min. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties of the 40 μm composite films were the best and the tensile strength reached about 29.2 MPa. Moreover, the composite films with the same thickness showed excellent electromagnetic shielding effects of 69.02 dB and 77.32 dB in X-band and P-band, respectively. The CNTs@MXene composite films showed excellent EMI shielding effectiveness and mechanical properties. Therefore, the composite films showed great advantages and potentials in the application of smart and wearable devices. Graphical abstract