High-entropy carbide ceramic nanowires enable high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding
image: (Ti0.2Zr0.2Hf0.2Nb0.2Ta0.2)C (HEC) nanowires on a flexible cotton fabric substrate via a polymer pyrolysis method was driven by the classical vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth mechanism and exhibited good electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance.
Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
One-dimentional high-entropy metal carbides have attracted significant attention for their exceptional physical and chemical properties, which endow them with great potential for applications in structural and functional fields. However, there is a lack of stable preparation methods, particularly on flexible substrates.
In this study, high-entropy (Ti0.2Zr0.2Hf0.2Nb0.2Ta0.2)C (HEC) nanowires were successfully synthesized through a precursor pyrolysis method using waste cotton fabric as both a flexible substrate and a carbon source. Interestingly, the growth of the nanowires followed a catalyst-assisted vapor-liquid-solid mechanism, driven by the dissolution of metals and carbon-containing molecules originating from the polymer precursors and thermal decomposition of cotton fabric in the Fe-Ni alloy. This process involved nucleation of HEC and subsequent nanowire growth. The as-prepared HEC nanowires with diameters ranging from 0.05 to 0.1 μm were randomly distributed on carbonized cotton fiber substrate without a specific orientation, forming an interconnected multiscale conductive network. Owing to the synergistic effects including electrical conduction loss, dipolar polarization loss arising from lattice distortion in HEC, and polarization loss generated by numerous heterojunctions within the material, the prepared HEC nanowires exhibit outstanding electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance in the X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz). For instance, the material achieved an EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 57.55 dB at a thickness of 1.35 mm.
This study introduces novel perspectives and scalable approaches for the preparation, formation mechanism, and functional applications of nanostructured high-entropy ceramics.
The work titled “Waste cotton fabric promotes high-entropy carbide ceramics nanowires growth to achieve high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding”, was published in Nano Research on August 29, 2025.
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (52202047, 524B2015, 52293370, 52293371), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023T160530), Joint Fund for Science and Technology Research of Henan Province and Henan Academy of Sciences (235200810094).
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Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.