Facile construction of 2D MXene (Ti3C2Tx) based aerogels with effective fire-resistance and electromagnetic interference shielding performance

Rapid growing of electronics has not only caused severe electromagnetic wave pollution, but also created a risk of fire and explosion. Therefore, developing ultralight, fire-resistant, high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials are imperative but also challenging. Considering the outstanding metallic conductivity and high aspect ratio, 2D Ti3C2Tx has been reported to be one of the most promising candidates for exhibiting excellent EMI shielding performance. Herein, we demonstrate a facile method to fabricate cellulose nanofiber (CNF)/ammonium polyphosphate (APP)/Ti3C2Tx composite aerogels via a simple freeze-drying method. The resultant CNF/APP/Ti3C2Tx composite aerogels exhibited excellent fire-resistance without obvious shrinkage when placed over the flame of an alcohol burner. Besides, the 8-mm-thick composite aerogel with 60% of Ti3C2Tx showed an average EMI shielding effectiveness of 55 dB (specific EMI shielding effectiveness/thickness could be similar to 5729 dB cm(2) g(-1)) with an absorption-dominant mechanism. This performance is owing to the relative high electrical conductivity (12 S/m) and multiple reflections from the porous structure. These characteristics make the composite aerogel a much more competitive product for a high-performance EMI shielding material. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.