Bioinspired Asymmetric Janus Film Enables Concurrent Dynamic Infrared Camouflage and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

The development of advanced composite films integrating both electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and infrared camouflage faces significant challenges due to the inherent property conflict between conductive network construction and infrared radiation regulation. Inspired by Saharan silver ant hairs, a bilayer asymmetric architecture combining infrared camouflage, EMI shielding, and thermal management is designed. An MXene/3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane@polyethylene glycol (MIP) aerogel substrate with axial channels is fabricated. This substrate exhibits a “funnel effect” that enriches silver nanowires (AgNWs) on its surface to form a biomimetic hair-like structure, subsequently hot-pressed into an AgNWs/MIP (AMIP) film. The AMIP film achieves 0.35 infrared emissivity through dynamic thermal regulation by the MIP layer and infrared shielding by the AgNWs layer, with electric-field-controlled temperature adaptability. Precise modulation of AgNWs network density enables dynamic tuning of EMI shielding effectiveness within 26–86 dB. Furthermore, the film demonstrates exceptional electrothermal and photothermal conversion capabilities, reaching temperatures of 49.3 °C (at 1.6 V) and 66.7 °C (under 1300 W m⁻² solar irradiation). Coupled with the phase-change heat storage capacity of the matrix, this enables efficient energy utilization. Thus, through biomimetic engineering and functional partition management, this study provides a technical pathway for integrating EMI protection, adaptive infrared camouflage, and energy conversion functionalities.