High-performance polyurethane composite elastomers with coral reef-like hierarchical heterostructures for electromagnetic wave absorption and flexible sensing

Abstract

With the rapid development of electronic technology and the wide application of 5G networks, flexible electronic devices with a single function can't meet the needs of daily life or military fields. Inspired by the structure of coral reefs, a high-performance polyurethane composite elastomer was designed for multifunctional applications, which was enhanced by multi-dimensional coral reef-like hierarchical heterostructures consisting of MXene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and Fe3O4via a solvothermal method. The composite elastomer reached a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −54.81 dB and worked effectively from −20 to 100 °C, which could meet the needs of year-round electromagnetic protection. Also, it showed a good sensitivity with a high GF value of 608, which could be widely used in flexible sensing and human motion monitoring. More importantly, its thermal diffusion capability was 155.9 % higher than that of pure polyurethane, and it remained stable at 200 °C and was not easy to decompose, showing outstanding thermal transmission and thermal stability. Such a novel functional composite material will provide an effective guidance solution for electromagnetic protection, flexible sensing, and thermal management under complex working conditions.