Modulation of MoSe2 & MnFe2O4@MnO2 nano-architectures for microwave absorption properties via single- and bilayer method

The electromagnetic pollution problem, particularly at microwave frequencies, poses a threat to not only sen-sitive technological gadgets but also to the health of humans. Therefore, there is a great need for lightweight and highly effective microwave-absorbing materials (MAMs). Here, we fabricated a hierarchical flower-like MoSe2 structure and a rod-like MnFe2O4@MnO2 architecture via a solvothermal method. Single-layer and bilayer samples were fabricated to study the microwave absorption feature. In single-layer samples, the flower-like MoSe2 structure has better microwave absorption properties than the rod-like MnFe2O4@MnO2 architecture. And in bilayer absorbing samples, a sample with a flower-like MoSe2 structure as the top layer shows high absorption performance. Moreover, in bilayer samples, changes were made to the thickness of both layers to find the best parameters. An optimal bilayer sample has been achieved with a flower-like dielectric MoSe2 structure as a top layer having a 1 mm thickness and magnetic MnFe2O4@MnO2 as a bottom layer also with a 1 mm thickness; indicating that a strong absorption can only be attained by balancing dielectric loss and magnetic loss. Moreover, the optimal sample shows decent absorption with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.4 GHz (14.7-9.3 GHz) with a 1 mm thickness of each layer. The simulated results of the optimal sample have also been compared with experimental results. These results suggest a different approach for developing MAMs in the future.

Automated summary

In this study, hierarchical flower-like MoSe2 structure and rod-like MnFe2O4@MnO2 architecture were fabricated via a solvothermal method to investigate microwave absorption properties. The flower-like MoSe2 structure showed better performance than the rod-like MnFe2O4@MnO2 structure in single-layer samples. In bilayer absorbing samples, a top layer with a flower-like MoSe2 structure exhibited high absorption performance. Through adjusting the thickness of both layers, an optimal bilayer sample was achieved with a flower-like MoSe2 structure as the top layer and MnFe2O4@MnO2 as the bottom layer, showing decent absorption with an effective absorption bandwidth of 5.4 GHz.