Mechanically durable and flame retardant CNF/PPy-MXene aerogel composites toward superior electromagnetic shielding with ultra-low reflectivity

In today's digital era, electromagnetic radiation pollution and fire hazard stand as a dual-edged sword, not only diminishing the efficacy of sophisticated electronic devices but also threatening human health. As a result, the pursuit of advanced electromagnetic shielding materials with high flame retardancy has ascended to the forefront of research priorities, underscoring their crucial role in mitigating these risks. In this study, pyrrole polymerization was employed to obtain a modified PPy-MXene, which was used to construct flame retardant modified MXene aerogel composites by the "Concreting" method. It was found that peak heat release rate, the total heat release, peak CO₂ production rate, peak smoke production rate and total smoke release of the C 1 M 2 MT FRs were reduced by 67.7 %, 46.7 %, 71.4 %, 71.7 % and 77.3 %, respectively. Furthermore, the average electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of C 1 M 2 MT FRs in the X-band and K-band reached 67.3 dB and 91.4 dB, respectively. It was noted that CMMT FRs had the ultra-low reflectivity (as low as 0.14). Additionally, the mechanical durability and strength of the aerogel composites were obviously enhanced, with compressive stress increased by a factor of 3.2, in comparison with that of the CNF aerogel.