Ultrathin, biomimetic multifunctional leaf-like silver nanowires/Ti3C2Tx MXene/cellulose nanofibrils nanocomposite film for high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding and thermal management

Herein, we reported an ultrathin, flexible and super conductive silver nanowires (Ag NWs) doped Ti(3)C(2)Tx/Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) films by constructing biomimetic leaf-vein scaffolds via a facile vacuum-assisted filtration. Leaf-vein structure was built by Ti(3)C(2)Tx nanosheets and Ag NWs, offering numerous junctions and forming 3D conductive skeletons. The Ag NWs doped Ti(3)C(2)Tx/CNFs film with 85 wt% Ti(3)C(2)Tx and 5 wt% Ag NWs exhibited extremely high electrical conductivity and superior electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) value with a small thickness of 6 pm in X-bands (8.2-12.4 GHz). Synergetic effect on the mechanical property was observed for film with 70 wt% Ti(3)C(2)Tx and 10 wt% Ag NWs, exhibiting EMI SSE/t of 19,613.5 dB cm(2) g(-1), much higher than Ti(3)C(2)Tx/CNFs film. The electron migrating and hopping in the leaf-like conductive networks would lead to the massive ohmic and dielectric losses on the dipole-rich surface of Ti(3)C(2)Tx nanosheets. Additionally, the proof-of-concept of the proven film used as a Joule heater for thermal management was ascertained, which possessed fast response, aging stability, high-precision and ultralow voltage supply (1-3 V). Due to those preferential characteristics, the biomimetic Ag NWs doped Ti(3)C(2)Tx/CNFs materials can be integrated into the emerging applications, such as intelligent garments, thermotherapy and wearable devices. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

An ultrathin, flexible and super conductive silver nanowires doped Ti(3)C(2)Tx/cellulose nanofibrils film with biomimetic leaf-vein structure was reported. The film exhibited high electrical conductivity and superior electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness. Additionally, it showed synergistic effect on mechanical property and could be used as a Joule heater for thermal management.