Positive Charge Holes Revealed by Energy Band Theory in Multiphase TixO2x-1 and Exploration of its Microscopic Electromagnetic Loss Mechanism

Although numerous experimental investigations have been carried out on the problem of defect engineering in semiconductor absorbers, the relationship among charge carrier, defects, heterointerfaces, and electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption has not been established systematically. Herein, the new thermodynamic and kinetic control strategy is proposed to establish multiphase TixO2x-1 (1 <= x <= 6) through a hydrogenation calcination. The TiOC-900 composite shows the efficient EM wave absorption capability with a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -69.6 dB at a thickness of 2.04 mm corresponding to an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.0 GHz due to the holes induced conductance loss and heterointerfaces induced interfacial polarization. Benefiting from the controllable preparation of multiphase TixO2x-1, a new pathway is proposed for designing high-efficiency EM wave absorbing semiconducting oxides. The validity of the method for adopting energy band theory to explore the underlying relations among charge carriers, defects, heterointerfaces, and EM properties in multiphase TixO2x-1 is demonstrated for the first time, which is of great importance in optimizing the EM wave absorption performance by electronic structure tailoring.

Automated summary

Although many experiments have been conducted on defect engineering in semiconductor absorbers, the systematic relationship between charge carriers, defects, heterointerfaces, and electromagnetic wave absorption has not been established. In this study, a new thermodynamic and kinetic control strategy is proposed to create multiphase TixO2x-1 materials through hydrogenation calcination. The TiOC-900 composite demonstrates efficient electromagnetic wave absorption due to conductance loss and interfacial polarization, suggesting a new pathway for designing high-efficiency EM wave absorbing semiconducting oxides.