Noncovalent self-assembly of a minuscule amount of nickel porphyrin on carbon nanotube for high-performance electromagnetic wave absorbing

High-performance and lightweight carbon-based electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials are urgently required for applications in aerospace and next-generation electronics. However, it is of great importance to break through the conventional thinking of loading high-density magnetic metals to improve the EMW ab-sorption performance of carbon-based absorbers. Herein, the 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-aminophenyl) porphyrin nickel (Ni-TAPP) was self-assembled on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) driven by the pi-pi interactions via a simple, facile, scalable preparation approach. The fabricated Ni-TAPP@CNTs nanocomposites not only effec-tively integrated the Ni active sites of Ni-TAPP and three-dimensional conductive networks of CNTs, but also exhibited good impedance matching and optimized dielectric loss. Benefiting from this remarkable synergy, the Ni-TAPP@CNTs presented a minimum reflection loss of-66.5 dB (1.9 mm, 10.1 GHz) at a Ni-TAPP content of merely 2.86 wt%. This work undoubtedly provides a high-efficiency strategy for the scalable fabrication of lightweight, durable EMW absorbing materials.

Automated summary

High-performance and lightweight carbon-based electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials are essential for aerospace and next-generation electronics. A simple and scalable technique was used to self-assemble 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-aminophenyl)porphyrin nickel (Ni-TAPP) on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via pi-pi interactions. The resulting Ni-TAPP@CNTs nanocomposites integrated Ni active sites and conductive networks, and exhibited excellent impedance matching and optimized dielectric loss. This work offers an efficient strategy for scalable fabrication of lightweight, durable EMW absorbing materials.