Superelastic MXene-Based Double-Layer Aerogels for Absorption-Dominated EMI Shielding and Infrared Stealth

The increasing severity of electromagnetic interference (EMI) has driven rapid developments in EMI shielding materials. However, conventional shielding materials are often reflection-dominated, leading to secondary electromagnetic pollution. EMI shielding materials with high absorption coefficient are urgently needed to address this problem. In this study, double-layer MXene/sodium alginate (SA)–MXene/Fe 3 O 4 /SA composite aerogels were fabricated through successive unidirectional freezing, organosilane cross-linking, and silicone rubber encapsulation. The resulting aerogels exhibited excellent absorption-dominated EMI shielding performance, attributed to their unique porous architecture and appropriate material compositions. The optimized aerogel showed an EMI shielding effectiveness of 38.3 dB and an absorption coefficient of 0.79, achieving a well balance between high shielding effectiveness and high absorption coefficient. Furthermore, organosilane cross-linking combined with silicone rubber encapsulation enhanced the mechanical properties, yielding high compressive strength (170.9 kPa) and outstanding elasticity after 1000 compression cycles. The aerogel also demonstrated exceptional infrared stealth performance with low infrared emissivity and thermal insulation characteristic. The strategy proposed in this work offers a novel structural design approach for developing multifunctional, absorption-dominated EMI shielding materials, demonstrating great potential for applications in aerospace and military fields.