Issue

Vol. 18 (2026)

A Multi-Scale Cross-Band Defense System Integrating Decoupled Visible, Dynamic Infrared Camouflage and Electromagnetic Shielding

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01961-4
Junlin Liu
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Shujuan Tan
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Xinrui Yang
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Jiajie Zhu
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Xin Yan
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Tianyu Chen
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Tianyu Chen
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Guangbin Ji
College of Material Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Guangbin Ji

gbji@nuaa.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 115

Abstract

Cross-band camouflage technology is a critical necessity, enabling personnel and equipment to evade detection across evolving surveillance systems, thereby enhancing survivability and mission success. Herein, this work develops a layer-structured composite system based on carbon nanotube (CNT) film comprising ionic liquid (IL) interlayer for infrared (IR) modulation and surface-engineered Cu2O nanoparticles for visible camouflage. The CNT/IL/CNT architecture enables reversible IR emissivity switching (Δε≈0.55) through electrically driven ion intercalation/deintercalation within 2 s, while spray-coated Cu2O nanoparticles (100 ~ 400 nm diameter) on the top CNT film layer generate rich structure colors with 90% IR transmittance. This spectral-decoupling design overcomes the traditional trade-off between color visibility and IR transmittance observed in pigment-based systems. Remarkably, due to physical interface coupling, the Cu2O-coated layer-structured system maintains exceptional electrical conductivity, enabling simultaneous electromagnetic interference shielding and electrothermal energy conversion. The integrated system demonstrates long-term operational stability. By unifying visible-IR camouflage, electromagnetic protection, and energy management in a lightweight platform, this work provides an important paradigm for cross-band camouflage technologies.


Highlights:
1 A multi-scale cross-band military lightweight camouflage system is constructed via elaborate hierarchical structure design.
2 This system can achieve rich color presentation to meet the visible camouflage requirements in different backgrounds.
3 This system can simultaneously achieve an infrared emissivity modulation of Δε > 0.5, achieving excellent dynamic infrared stealth.
4 This system characterized by its light weight can also achieve efficient electromagnetic interference shielding and excellent electrothermal conversion.

Keywords

Visible camouflage Adaptive IR camouflage Cu2O/CNT composite film Electrothermal energy conversion EMI shielding
Liu, Junlin, Shujuan Tan, Xinrui Yang, Jiajie Zhu, Xin Yan, Tianyu Chen, Tianyu Chen, and Guangbin Ji. 2026. “A Multi-Scale Cross-Band Defense System Integrating Decoupled Visible, Dynamic Infrared Camouflage and Electromagnetic Shielding”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (January):115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01961-4.
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