MAX Phases for Advanced Electromagnetic Protection: A Review of Compositional and Structural Engineering Strategies

ABSTRACT

Ternary layered carbide MAX phases, which synergistically combine the advantages of metals and ceramics, demonstrate excellent electrical conductivity, high‐temperature tolerance, corrosion resistance, and irradiation tolerance, positioning them as promising candidates for electromagnetic interference shielding and microwave absorption. Driven by the increasing demand for electromagnetic protection in extreme environments, research on MAX‐phase‐based functional materials has gained considerable momentum. However, a systematic understanding of material design strategies, structure–property relationships, and electromagnetic loss mechanisms remains absent. This review provides a structured overview of recent advances in MAX‐phase‐based electromagnetic protection materials, with particular focus on elucidating the interplay among compositional engineering, structural design, and performance optimization. Furthermore, key challenges and future directions are discussed, including the synthesis of high‐purity rare‐earth‐based MAX phases, limited compositional tunability, magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms, and insufficient evaluation under extreme conditions such as ultrahigh temperatures, irradiation, and high humidity. Future efforts should focus on exploring novel MAX‐phase systems, elucidating electromagnetic response mechanisms under multiphysics‐field coupling, and transitioning from empirical to theory‐guided design. These endeavors will accelerate the translation of fundamental research into practical applications, offering theoretical guidance and design principles for next‐generation high‐performance electromagnetic protection materials tailored for extreme environments.