Bioinspired by staggered cellular structures: 3D-printed aerogel frameworks for ink rheological, parametric optimization, and enhanced terahertz electromagnetic shielding performance
image: A bioinspired strategy is proposed to fabricate aerogel frameworks with unique staggered stacking architectures via direct ink writing 3D printing technology for enhanced THz shielding and absorption performance. The staggered stacking framework exhibits an excellent maximum reflection loss (RL) of 54.01 dB in the 0.5-3.0 THz range (100% qualified bandwidth) and a high absorption of 94.97%.
Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
The burgeoning advancement of terahertz (THz) technology in domains such as communication, imaging, and sensing has underscored the imperative for high-performance THz electromagnetic shielding materials. THz waves, spanning 0.1–10 THz, bridge the gap between microwave and infrared spectra, offering unique advantages for communication, imaging, and sensing. However, their high penetration and broad bandwidth also pose significant risks, including electromagnetic interference, data leakage, and potential biological effects from prolonged exposure. These hazards underscore the critical need for effective THz electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding to ensure system reliability, protect human health, and prevent security breaches, driving research into advanced shielding materials and technologies. Conventional metal shielding materials often suffer from high density and corrosion susceptibility. Unlike traditional materials, future shielding materials will need to meet higher requirements in terms of application flexibility, adaptability, and customizability to satisfy the stringent demands of next-generation applications, especially in scenarios requiring miniaturization. To this end, many researchers have attempted to develop EMI shielding structures with high design freedom in three-dimensional (3D) scales. However, creating 3D shielding materials with customizable architectures remains a formidable challenge, as conventional fabrication methods including foaming, templating, and freeze-casting suffer from technical uncertainties that hinder precise 3D structuring.
Natural hierarchical staggered cellular structures, such as bones and wood, feature abundant micropores/channels and interlocking staggered layered architectures. The architectural feature promotes multi-reflection and absorption of electromagnetic waves, prolonging their propagation path and strengthening wave attenuation. Inspired by this, a team of researchers led by Ming-Guo Ma from Beijing Forestry University, China reported a bioinspired strategy to fabricate multilayer-MXene (m-Ti3C2Tx)/cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) aerogel frameworks with staggered stacking architectures via direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing technology for enhanced THz shielding and absorption performance. Through comprehensive optimization, we achieved composite inks with outstanding rheological properties and identified optimal printing parameters, enabling high-precision and stable 3D printing fabrication. The framework exhibits an excellent maximum reflection loss (RL) of 54.01 dB in the 0.5-3.0 THz range (100% qualified bandwidth) and a high absorption of 99.40%. It realizes a high green shielding index (gs), the range of gs > 9 that meets the standard for excellent green EMI shielding up to 2.5 THz. Meanwhile, it demonstrates high shielding effectiveness (SE) exceeding 40 dB across a broad gigahertz (GHz) frequency range from 3.9 to 18 GHz, particularly reaching an excellent 101.84 dB in the Ku band. This work provides a simple and efficient way to achieve outstanding THz shielding and absorption performance.
The team published their review in Nano Research on January 6, 2026.
“In this report, we propose a bioinspired strategy about fabricating multilayer-MXene (m-Ti3C2Tx)/cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) aerogel frameworks with staggered stacking architectures via direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing technology for enhanced THz shielding and absorption performance,” said by Ming-Guo Ma, the corresponding author of the paper, a professor in the School of Materials Science and Technology at Beijing Forestry University.
“The optimized composite gel ink exhibits high design freedom and printing precision, while enabling a variety of printing and coating techniques, demonstrating its adaptability to practical applications such as spray painting, stamping, coating, extrusion, and writing,” Ming-Guo Ma said.
The bioinspired staggered pore architecture constructed by 3D printing facilitates multiple internal reflections and scattering of the waves. This creates a unique "absorption-reflection-reabsorption" interface that significantly prolongs the dissipation path of THz wave energy, promoting THz shielding and absorption performance. “The staggered stacking framework exhibits an excellent maximum reflection loss (RL) of 54.01 dB in the 0.5-3.0 THz range (100% qualified bandwidth) and a high absorption of 94.97%. It realizes a high green shielding index (gs), the range of gs>9 that meets the standard for excellent green EMI shielding up to 2.5 THz,” said by Ming-Guo Ma.
Other contributors include Lei Chen, Sheng-Can Yang, Qi Liu and Jia-Qi Lang from the School of Materials Science and Technology at Beijing Forestry University.
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22478036) and Beijing Nova Program (20230484431).
About Author:
Prof. Dr. Ming-Guo Ma is a full professor and a group leader at Beijing Forestry University. He received his B.S. (2001) and M.S. (2005) in Chemistry from Shandong University. He completed his Ph.D. (2008) in Materials Physical Chemistry at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is lecturer and co-author around 200 international scientific publications. His current research focuses on the synthesis, properties, and applications of the nanocellulose, biomass composites, flexible electronic sensors, and wearable energy storage devices.
About Nano Research
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.