SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3539-5
MXene-based layered films are promising for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, yet achieving highly ordered structures in scalable production remains challenging. Here, we report a facile centrifugal casting method for fabricating MXene/polyvinyl alcohol (MXene/PVA) films with highly oriented and compact layered structures. During centrifugal casting, the viscous fluid experiences strong shear and centrifugal forces along tangential and normal directions, respectively, inducing compact and oriented arrangement of MXene nanosheets. Consequently, the Herman's orientation factor increases from 0.681 to 0.794 as rotation rate rises from 0 to 4000 r/min. Accordingly, tensile strength and toughness improve from 55.2 to 191.1 MPa and from ~0.8 to 2.5 MJ/m³, respectively. The highly oriented and compact layered structure with ultrathin thickness (~8 μm) enables a high absolute electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SSE/t) of 21029 dB cm²/g. Moreover, increased orientation reduces infrared emissivity to 0.248, endowing the film with excellent thermal camouflage capability. This work presents an effective strategy for constructing high-performance MXene-based layered films.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3814-2
Micro-structured surfaces have attracted increasing attention due to their great potential applications. However, it is still a challenge to continuously fabricate micro-structured surfaces based on thermoplastics by a facile, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly method. Herein, with the help of the extrusion molding method and an elaborately designed mold, micro-grooved fiber (MGF) based on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is continuously prepared. Theoretically, infinitely long MGFs with feature sizes down to a few microns can be efficiently fabricated because of the continuous fabrication characteristic of the melt extrusion method. Interestingly, left- and right-handed micro-grooves with different helix angles can be produced by applying twisting at the die exit, and the macroscopically MGF springs can be further fabricated via a self-designed three-dimensional helical enwind device. By regulating wettability, MGF can achieve liquid self-transport on predefined paths. In addition, MGF fabric exhibits rapid evaporation behavior, whose evaporation rate is about 4 times higher than that of the Smooth fiber (SMF) fabric and 2 times higher than that of the most popular commercial quick-drying fabric (i.e., Cool-max fabric). This work proposes a facile and environmentally-friendly method for continuously preparing low-cost and flexible MGF, opening a new pathway to develop fiber-based microfluidic systems following the concept of "functionalized processing for thermoplastics".
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4124-x
Aerogel fibers, featuring distinct porous architecture and fiber flexibility, have emerged as leading materials for personal thermal protection; however, complex drying processes and singular thermal insulation mechanisms limit their use in complex environments. Here, aramid nanofiber/carbon nanotube (ANF/CNT) aerogel fibers integrating passive thermal insulation and active solar heating were fabricated via wet-spinning and ambient-pressure drying (APD). The incorporation of CNT and Ca2+ generates abundant physical and chemical crosslinking points, strengthening the nanofiber network skeleton and reducing structural collapse during APD to only 8.9% shrinkage. The resulting ANF/CNT aerogel textiles exhibit low thermal conductivity of 33.8–40.4 mW/(m K) and thermal insulation capability from −196 to 400 °C. The photothermal effect of CNT enables active solar heating, effectively supplementing passive insulation and allowing survival in extremely cold environments. In real tests, the synergistic effect improved skin temperature by up to 5.9 °C, significantly higher than 1.6 °C from passive insulation alone. These ANF/CNT aerogel fibers combine flexibility, mechanical strength, and flame retardancy, demonstrating promising potential for smart, controllable personal thermal management applications.