Fish trap-inspired absorption-dominant electromagnetic interference shielding using layered gradient porous structures

The development of lightweight and absorption-dominant electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials is essential for next-generation electronic and communication systems. In this study, a fish-trap-inspired gradient MXene/melamine foam composite was designed and fabricated by integrating multiple MXene-coated melamine foam layers with progressively increasing conductivity, controlled interlayer spacing, and a terminal MXene reflection film. This synergistic configuration effectively suppresses surface reflection and enhances internal electromagnetic energy dissipation through multiple scattering and absorption. The optimized structure achieved an average total shielding effectiveness (SET) of 60 dB in the X-band, with an ultralow average reflection component (SER) of 0.12 dB. Remarkably, an extremely low reflectivity (R) of 7.4 × 10⁻⁷ and high absorptivity (A) of 0.9999979 were obtained at 11.2 GHz by optimizing the spacing. These results demonstrate a robust strategy of using fish-trap-inspired gradient architecture for developing lightweight, high-efficiency, and absorption-dominant EMI shielding materials.