As electronics multiply, electromagnetic interference becomes a serious problem — degrading signal quality and, for home wireless, security as well.
A team at the University of California developed a flexible film based on TaSe₃, a material close to genuinely one-dimensional. The twist: although TaSe₃ is metallic in nature, it can be made non-conductive once mixed into a polymer.
Key advantages
- Shielding effectiveness up to 99.99% from a film only micrometres thick
- Non-conductive, light and flexible
- Easy to manufacture — it can be mixed into paint or wall adhesive
Practical applications include home Wi-Fi privacy, suppressing interference between devices, and meeting the needs of future high-frequency communication technologies.