Development of Ultra-High Frequency Band Electromagnetic Wave Blocking Material

[Financial News] A thin film as thick as 1/10 of a human hair has been developed to completely block ultra-high frequency band electromagnetic waves. The MXene material is expected to be applied in a wide range of fields such as next-generation communications, autonomous vehicles, defense industry, and space electronics.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 29th that the research team led by Professor Kwon Soon-Yong, Professors Choi Eun-Mi and Byun Kang-Il from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with Professor Lee Geon-Do's team from Seoul National University, has succeeded for the first time in the world in synthesizing a high-purity nitrogen-substituted MAX precursor and the MXene 2D material obtained from it.
MXene is a 2D nanomaterial with alternating layers of metal and carbon, known for its excellent electrical conductivity and the ability to design various compounds, earning it the nickname "dream new material." It has been particularly noted as a next-generation ultra-thin shielding material that blocks electromagnetic interference in the sub-THz range. Unlike existing metal shields, which are heavy, prone to corrosion, and have rapidly declining performance in high-frequency bands, MXene is thin, lightweight, and exhibits excellent shielding capabilities even in high-frequency bands.
The joint research team succeeded in substituting some of the carbon in the MAX precursor with nitrogen, developing a new titanium-based MAX precursor synthesis process and elevating the performance of MXene to the highest level in the world. The MXene film developed with nitrogen-substituted MAX is a thin film at 1/10 the thickness of a human hair (approximately 50~100㎛), yet it recorded the highest electrical conductivity (35,000 S/cm) among MXene materials reported to date, indicating excellent shielding performance.
Through the developed process, it is possible to freely adjust the degree of nitrogen substitution from 0% to nearly 100% while maintaining a single crystal structure of the precursor, resulting in a high-purity MAX precursor without intermediate impurities. This means that the electromagnetic properties of MXene can be precisely tuned according to the nitrogen content, maximizing electromagnetic wave shielding and reflection performance depending on the application field.
Professor Kwon Soon-Yong stated, "Nitrogen-substituted MXene will be a groundbreaking breakthrough in next-generation electromagnetic wave blocking technology," adding, "It is expected to play a role in reducing electromagnetic interference in a wide range of fields, from mobile devices to electronic systems in vehicles and aircraft, and next-generation communication base stations."
The results of this research, conducted with the support of the Nano-Material Technology Development Project promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea, were published on April 25th in 'Advanced Materials,' a world-renowned journal in the field of materials science.




jiany@fnnews.com Yeon Ji-An Reporter