Direct Ink Writing of Low-Concentration MXene/Aramid Nanofiber Inks for Tunable Electromagnetic Shielding and Infrared Anticounterfeiting Applications.

Abstract

MXene inks offer a promising avenue for the scalable production and customization of printing electronics. However, simultaneously achieving a low solid content and printability of MXene inks, as well as mechanical flexibility and environmental stability of printed objects, remains a challenge. In this study, we overcame these challenges by employing high-viscosity aramid nanofibers (ANFs) to optimize the rheology of low-concentration MXene inks. The abundant entangled networks and hydrogen bonds formed between MXene and ANF significantly increase the viscosity and yield stress up to 103 Pa·s and 200 Pa, respectively. This optimization allows the use of MXene/ANF (MA) inks at low concentrations in direct ink writing and other high-viscosity processing techniques. The printable MXene/ANF inks with a high conductivity of 883.5 S/cm were used to print shields with customized structures, achieving a tunable electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) in the 0.2-48.2 dB range. Furthermore, the MA inks exhibited adjustable infrared (IR) emissivity by changing the ANF ratio combined with printing design, demonstrating the application for infrared anticounterfeiting. Notably, the printed MXene/ANF objects possess outstanding mechanical flexibility and environmental stability, which are attributed to the reinforcement and protection of ANF. Therefore, these findings have significant practical implications as versatile MXene/ANF inks can be used for customizable, scalable, and cost-effective production of flexible printed electronics.