Tailoring triply periodic minimal surface architectures with Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene for high-performance absorptive EMI shielding

It is imperative to mitigate the detrimental influences of the electromagnetic waves (EMWs) generated by the surrounding communication and digital systems. Harnessing the material characteristics along with the structural facets has been arising as an innovative solution to harvest enhanced capabilities of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding with elevated absorption and minimized reflection. In this work, the EMI shielding capabilities of Ti3C2Tx MXene-coated polymeric triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures were systematically investigated. The influence of TPMS architectural parameters, such as geometry and periodicity, on EMI shielding performance in the X-band frequency range was meticulously evaluated. Additionally, the gradient-conductive TPMS structures were fabricated to achieve absorption-dominated EMI shielding. By optimizing both the structural parameters and the coating process, Ti3C2Tx MXene-coated TPMS lattices achieved an EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) exceeding 50 dB, with more than 75% of the EMWs attenuated via absorption. This work paves the way for precise modulation of EMI shielding performance and tunable control over the underlying shielding mechanisms.