Multifunctional Flexible MXene/AgNW Composite Thin Film with Ultrahigh Conductivity Enabled by a Sandwich-Structured Assembly Strategy (Small 3/2024)

AbstractFlexible composite films have attracted considerable attention due to great potential for healthcare, telecommunication, and aerospace. However, it is still challenging to achieve high conductivity and multifunctional integration, mainly due to poorly designed composite structures of these films. Herein, a novel sandwich‐structured assembly strategy is proposed to fabricate flexible composite thin films made of Ag nanowire (AgNW) core and MXene layers by combination of spray coating and vacuum filtration process. In this case, ultrathin MXene layers play crucial roles in constructing compact composite structures strongly anchored to substrate with extensive hydrogen‐bonding interactions. The resultant sandwich‐structured MXene/AgNW composite thin films (SMAFs) exhibit ultrahigh electrical conductivity (up to 27193 S cm−1), resulting in exceptional electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of 16 223.3 dB cm2 g−1 and impressive Joule heating performance with rapid heating rate of 10.4 °C s−1. Moreover, the uniform SMAFs can also be facilely cut into kirigami‐patterned interconnects, which indicate superior strain‐insensitive conductance even after long‐term exposure to extreme temperatures. The demonstrated strategy offers a significant paradigm to construct multifunctional composite thin films for next‐generation integrated flexible electronics with practical applications.