Recent advancements in carbonaceous nanomaterials for multifunctional broadband electromagnetic interference shielding and wearable devices

The ever-increasing proliferation of 5G wireless communication technologies and modern electronics gadgets raises concerns about electromagnetic pollution. Among the myriad e-pollution, electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a recently emphasized realm with much more implications. It affects the performance including malfunctioning and has negative impact on organisms and ecosystems. Therefore, multi-functional EMI shielding materials are essential for minimizing electromagnetic pollution and protecting human beings as well as the nearby devices or systems. In this regard, carbonaceous materials are considered as promising for efficient EMI shielding and microwave absorber due to their synergistic loss mechanism as well as the tunable architecture design. Recent progress revealed that there is significant attention in the construction of carbonaceous material with a unique multiple-interface (i.e. multi-layer, core-shell) framework. More impressively, the multilayer strategic approach is able to relocate the EMI shielding mechanism from reflection to absorption. It generates a significant number of heterogeneous interfaces among the various EM constituents resulting increased interfacial polarisation and dielectric loss. The progress of heterogeneous interface material is endless and this novel class of materials is widely used in various wearable devices and radiation source. Finally, the challenges and prospects on the development of carbon-based multiple-interfaces composites are discussed in detail.