Heterogeneous ZnO@CF structures and their excellent microwave absorbing properties with thin thickness and low filling

With the aim to obtain enhanced absorbing performance at small thickness and low filling, a robust strategy to fabricate zinc oxide (ZnO) modified carbon fiber (CF) structures have been successfully prepared by using low temperature hydrothermal method. Due to the multi-interface polarization caused by the high specific surface area of the complex heterostructures and the improvement of impedance matching, the composites show excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties. Under the condition of low filling content (20 wt%) and ultra-thin thickness (1.5 mm), the excellent absorption performance of minimal reflection loss of -34.4 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth (RL <= -10 dB) of 4.94 GHz is achieved. In addition, the effective absorption bandwidth covers the whole 2-18 GHz band with the increase of thickness from 0.5 to 10 mm. This work provides an innovative method for designing the matching layer of carbon-based absorbing materials, and ZnO@CF heterostructure is expected to become a potential absorbing material. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

A zinc oxide modified carbon fiber structure has been successfully prepared using a low temperature hydrothermal method, which exhibits excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties. The composites show enhanced absorption performance at low filling and thin thickness, and the absorption bandwidth expands with increasing thickness.