Demonstration of Next-Generation Electromagnetic Shielding Materials

Project Overview

An unintended consequence of the proliferation of electronic devices is the increase of "everyday" electromagnetic pollution. Such undesirable electromagnetic radiation, called electromagnetic interference (EMI), can cause the leakage of confidential information and targets, lead to the malfunction of electronic devices, and even impair human health. Conventional materials of choice to combat EMI are metal shrouds made of aluminum, copper, and nickel. However, they are heavy, bulky, easily corrodible, and not mechanically flexible - all of which limits the use for modern microelectronic devices. Here, we have developed next-generation shielding materials called Mxenes that are lightweight, ultrathin, and highly efficient. Specifically, we successful synthesized Ti3C2Tx Mxene with high production yield (~70 %) outperforming the conventional highly toxic HF synthesis. Furthermore, their shielding effectiveness (SE) is significantly higher than conventional metals at comparable thickness and the normalized SE by density and thickness of the resulting Mxene is an order of magnitude higher than that of conventional materials. Our success and demonstration will be critical for the scale-up science of Mxenes and open up a pathway for practical utilization of next generation EM shielding materials and RF device applications.

Mission Impact

The work described herein would build upon and expand Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Core Competency of "Accelerated Materials and Manufacturing" and has direct applications to LLNL's Mission Focus Area of Space Security and Directed Energy to develop electromagnetic shielding capabilities and antenna/waveguide materials for small satellites and high power microwave technologies.