Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (6): 100279.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2026.100279

• REVIEW • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Advances and challenges in flexible electromagnetic protection materials for electromagnetic interference shielding and wave absorption

Shengdi Mao1, Ruifeng Miao1, Di Lan2, Shijie Zhang1,*(), Jiguang Zhou3, Xun Liu3, Suxuan Du1,*(), Zhiwei Zhao1, Guanglei Wu4,*()   

  1. 1 School of Material Science and Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China
    2 School of Automotive Materials, Hubei University of Automotive Technology, Shiyan 442002, Hubei Province, China
    3 Zhengzhou Research Institute for Abrasives & Grinding Superhard Materials Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou 450002, Henan Province, China
    4 College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, Shandong Province, China
  • Received:2026-01-08 Revised:2026-03-04 Accepted:2026-03-05 Published:2026-04-21
  • Contact: Email: zsj562389@sina.com (Shijie Zhang)suxuan_du@haut.edu.cn (Suxuan Du)wuguanglei@qdu.edu.cn/wuguanglei@mail.xjtu.edu.cn (Guanglei Wu)

Abstract:

Wireless local area network (WLAN) and fifth generation (5G) are rapidly progressing, so people have focused on high-efficiency electromagnetic protection (EMP) materials. However, early EMP materials often prioritized electromagnetic attenuation efficiency while neglecting mechanical flexibility. This limitation has restricted their application in emerging fields such as wearable electronics, soft robotics, and intelligent sensing systems. Therefore, flexible EMP materials need to be developed. Flexible EMP materials were systematically divided into flexible electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials and flexible electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA) materials in this review. In addition, these two categories were further classified according to different material systems and design strategies. Flexible EMI shielding materials, based on different substrates of conductive polymers, carbon-based nanomaterials, MXenes, and metal composites, were summarized for their high shielding effectiveness (SE) and high compliance. Thin-film architecture has been widely applied in both EMI shielding and wave absorption systems, and the role of it was also introduced. Subsequently, flexible EWA materials with a variety of structural designs, including polymer-based composites, sponges, foams, and aerogels, have been systematically introduced. In this review, a comprehensive understanding of flexible EMI shielding materials and EWA materials is given, the mechanism and material classification of recent research results are explained, and the guiding significance of design ideas for next-generation flexible EMP materials is provided.

Key words: Flexible electromagnetic protection, Protection mechanisms, Design strategies, Composite strategy, Multifunction