Dual-template engineered PEDOT:PSS aerogels with hierarchical porous networks and enhanced mechanical robustness for electromagnetic interference shielding and strain sensing

Lightweight conductive aerogels that combine mechanical robustness, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and strain sensing are desirable for wearable electronics and intelligent electromagnetic protection. However, conventional conductive polymer aerogels often suffer from fragile porous frameworks and unstable conductive pathways. It remains challenging to simultaneously achieve low density, structural robustness, and functional reliability. Herein, a dual-template engineering strategy integrating bubble templating and ice templating is proposed to construct all-polymer PVA/PAA@PEGDMA/PEDOT:PSS aerogels with hierarchical conductive architectures. In this design, bubble templating generates interconnected macropores that reduce density, provide deformation space, and promote electromagnetic-wave scattering. Directional ice templating forms secondary porous skeletons within the pore walls to reinforce the framework and stabilize conductive pathways. Benefiting from this multiscale structural coupling, the PPPA aerogel series exhibits a low densities ranging from 31.88 to 72.41 mg cm⁻ 3 . The optimized PPPA-2 aerogel shows high electrical conductivities up to 15.51 S m⁻ 1 , compressive strength above 600 kPa, and a modulus approaching 5 MPa. At a thickness of 8 mm, the optimized aerogel achieves an EMI shielding effectiveness of 55.5 dB in the X-band and an SSE/t of 1104 dB cm 2 g⁻ 1 . Moreover, the aerogels show reliable piezoresistive sensing with a gauge factor of 1.35 and fast response/recovery times of 141/147 ms. This work demonstrates a hierarchical pore-network design strategy for stabilizing conductive polymer aerogels and advancing multifunctional lightweight EMI shielding materials. Download: Download high-res image (285KB) Download: Download full-size image