Electromagnetic-Polarization Selective Composites with Quasi-1D van der Waals Metallic Fillers

TL;DR

This paper presents flexible polymer composites with aligned quasi-1D metallic fillers that enable polarization-sensitive electromagnetic transmission control, promising applications in electromagnetic interference shielding for future communication technologies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to align quasi-1D van der Waals metallic nanowires within polymer films, enabling polarization-dependent electromagnetic properties at the nanoscale.

Findings

Significant variation in electromagnetic transmission with filler orientation.

Demonstration of polarization-sensitive behavior in the composite films.

Potential application in electromagnetic interference shielding.

Abstract

We report on the preparation of flexible polymer composite films with aligned metallic fillers comprised of atomic chain bundles of the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) van der Waals material tantalum triselenide, TaSe3. The material functionality, embedded at the nanoscale level, is achieved by mimicking the design of an electromagnetic aperture grid antenna. The processed composites employ chemically exfoliated TaSe3 nanowires as the grid building blocks incorporated within the thin film. Filler alignment is achieved using the "blade coating" method. Measurements conducted in the X-band frequency range demonstrate that the electromagnetic transmission through such films can be varied significantly by changing the relative orientations of the quasi-1D fillers and the polarization of the electromagnetic wave. We argue that such polarization-sensitive polymer films with quasi-1D fillers are applicable to advanced electromagnetic interference shielding in future communication systems.