Arginine-inspired Ti3C2Tx MXenes with antioxidation function for highly air-stable electromagnetic interference shielding

An important technical obstacle in protecting electronic equipment is controlling the modulation of electromagnetic (EM) wave jamming. MXenes, as promising lossy phase materials, have demonstrated exceptional potential for advanced electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Nevertheless, their inherent instability in ambient air leads to rapid degradation of their nanostructures and functional properties, limiting practical applications. Here, we establish a surface-structure engineering strategy to fabricate an air-stable, and highly effective EMI shielding MXene@arginine film. By employing esterification with arginine, hydroxyl groups on the MXene surface were effectively removed, resulting in enhanced air stability. Simultaneously, the arginine modification-induced wrinkled structures created unique pathways that significantly enhanced the EMI shielding performance of the film through the enhanced multi-refection loss. The incorporation of the arginine led to a remarkable retention of 92.2 % in the EMI SE of the film for 193 days in humid atmosphere. Furthermore, the influence of the wrinkled structures on the EM response of the film was explored using finite element simulations, which revealed detailed surface electric field intensity distributions. Our findings pave the way for the development of highly effective shielding films with long service time, and they shed light on the fundamental understanding of microwave interactions with random wrinkle structures.