Sea Anemone-Inspired Phase Change Composites for Efficient Heat Dissipation and Ultra-High Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Exigent demands for multifunctional composites integrating proficient thermal management and electromagnetic shielding functionalities arise directly from the accelerating sophistication and power intensification of modern electronic systems. Drawing inspiration from the efficient grasping tentacles of sea anemones, this study pioneers a bioinspired strategy for thermal and electromagnetic management in high-power electronics: architecting bioinspired carbon nanotubes (CNTs) interfaces on copper foam. Notably, the sea anemone tentacle-like CNTs architected on copper foam not only anchor abundant poly(styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene)/n-docosane to enhance the composites' latent heat capacity and leakage resistance but also interconnect with expanded graphite to establish multi-path thermal conduction networks while creating electromagnetic wave-reflecting heterogeneous interfaces. By leveraging CNTs as structural bridges, this design integrates the copper foam, expanded graphite, and polymer matrix into a continuous composite (CuFCE-2), achieving superb thermal conductivity (4.71 W/m·K). Consequently, CuFCE-2 excels in thermal management, suppressing chip temperatures by 60.6 °C (transient shock) and 15.7 °C (steady state). Critically, synergistic coordination across these bioinspired heterogeneous interfaces achieves prominent electromagnetic interference shielding, averaging 111.1 dB in the X-band (8.2 to 12.4 GHz). Collectively, the straightforward preparation method and exceptional properties of CuFCE-2 endow it with substantial application potential in electronics and communications, aerospace and defense, as well as new energy and energy storage systems.