Design of MOF-derived hierarchical Co@C@RGO composite with controllable heterogeneous interfaces as a high-efficiency microwave absorbent

Large Microsphere Structure of a Co/C Composite Derived from Co-MOF with Excellent Wideband Electromagnetic Microwave Absorption Performance

In the field of electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption, carbon matrix materials based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have drawn more interest as a result of their outstanding advantages, such as porous structure, lightweight, controlled morphology, etc. However, how to broaden the effective absorption bandwidth [EAB; reflection loss (RL) ≤ -10 dB] is still a challenge. In this paper, large microsphere structures of a Co/C composite composed of small particle clusters were successfully prepared by the solvothermal method and annealing treatment. At a filling ratio of 40 wt %, the Co/C composite shows attractive microwave absorption (MA) performance after being annealed at 600 °C in an atmosphere of argon. With an EAB of 6.32 GHz (9.92-16.24 GHz) and a thickness of just 2.57 mm, the minimum RL can be attained at -54.55 dB. Most importantly, the EAB can attain 7.12 GHz (10.88-18.0 GHz) when the thickness is 2.38 mm, which is larger than that of the majority of MOF-derived composites. The superior MA performance is strongly related to excellent impedance matching and a higher attenuation constant. This study provides a simple strategy for synthesizing a MOF-derived Co/C composite with a wide EAB.

Fabrication and Microwave Absorption Properties of Core-Shell Structure Nanocomposite Based on Modified Anthracite Coal

Microwave-absorbing materials have attracted extensive attention due to the development of electronic countermeasures. In this study, novel nanocomposites with core-shell structures based on the core of Fe-Co nanocrystals and the shell of furan methylamine (FMA)-modified anthracite coal (Coal-F) were designed and fabricated. The Diels-Alder (D-A) reaction of Coal-F with FMA creates a large amount of aromatic lamellar structure. After the high-temperature treatment, the modified anthracite with a high degree of graphitization showed an excellent dielectric loss, and the addition of Fe and Co effectively enhanced the magnetic loss of the obtained nanocomposites. In addition, the obtained micro-morphologies proved the core-shell structure, which plays a significant role in strengthening the interface polarization. As a result, the combined effect of the multiple loss mechanism promoted a remarkable improvement in the absorption of incident electromagnetic waves. The carbonization temperatures were specifically studied through a setting control experiment, and 1200 °C was proved to be the optimum parameter to obtain the best dielectric loss and magnetic loss of the sample. The detecting results show that the 10 wt.% CFC-1200/paraffin wax sample with a thickness of 5 mm achieves a minimum reflection loss of -41.6 dB at a frequency of 6.25 GHz, indicating an excellent microwave absorption performance.

Laser-inducedin situsynthesis of nano-composite Co-Co3O4-rGO on paper: miniaturized biosensor for alkaline phosphatase detection

Recent progress in thein situsynthesise of various nanomaterials has gained tremendous interest and wide applications in various fields. For the first time to the best of our knowledge, this work reports a methodology of ultra-fastin situsynthesis of cobalt-cobalt oxide-reduced graphene oxide (Co-Co₃O₄-rGO (CC-rGO)) composite by laser ablation. The photothermal reduction technique was leveraged to develop the CC-rGO. For this, a low-cost 450 nm blue diode laser was irradiated onto a grade 1 filter paper in the presence of cobalt ions readily patterns the carbon matrix of paper to the composite material. Moreover, the variation of cobalt concentrations from 0.1-0.5 M led to structural and morphological changes. Standard techniques were adopted for thorough characterizations of developed sensor material for conductivity analysis, specific surface area, crystal-structural information, surface morphology, and chemical composition. The observed results were highly promoting towards the electrochemical sensing applications. Further, the developed sensor was found to be highly selective toward detecting a vital bio analyte alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The sensors performance was highly significant in the linear range of 10-800 mU l^-1with a detection limit of 10.13 mU l^-1. The sensors applicability was further validated in actual human serum samples via a recovery-based approach. In the future, the developedin situmaterial methodology can begin a rapid composite material synthesis at a larger scale.

Constructing ordered macropores in hollow Co/C polyhedral nanocages shell toward superior microwave absorbing performance

Rational design of porous carbon architecture is essential for superior microwave absorbing performance. Herein, we report a new type of hollow porous Co/C polyhedral nanocages with ordered macropores of  ∼60 nm (HP-Co/C) as microwave absorber, which were readily manufactured by epitaxial growth of ZIF-67/SiO₂ nanolayers on the surfaces of polyhedral ZIF-8 nanoparticle, and followed by simple calcination in Ar atmosphere and subsequent removal of SiO₂ with HF. The ordered macropores can effectively tune the electromagnetic parameters of HP-Co/C, affording the obtained HP-Co/C composites strong attenuation capability and excellent impedance matching characteristics for electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. As a result, the reflection loss (RL) and effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of HP-Co/C prepared under pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C can reach up to -66.5 dB and 8.96 GHz, respectively, at filler fraction of only 15 wt%. Together, this study offers a new design philosophy to make lightweight and broadband microwave absorbent and can be extended to other types of microwave absorbers, significantly enriching the categories of the efficient microwave absorbing materials.

Hierarchical HCF@NC/Co Derived from Hollow Loofah Fiber Anchored with Metal-Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient Microwave Absorption

Hierarchical electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials with a dielectric-magnetic dual-loss mechanism are promising candidates for highly efficient EMW attenuation. Herein, hierarchical dielectric-magnetic composite hollow carbon fiber@nitrogen-doped carbon/Co (HCF@NC/Co) was successfully synthesized via in situ growth of two-dimensional (2D) Co metal-organic framework (MOF) (ZIF-67) nanosheets on the surface of hollow loofah fiber (HLF), followed by a calcination process, where the aggregation of carbonized MOFs was effectively avoided to construct a homogeneous hierarchical one-dimensional structure. Based on the advantages of the carbon/Co dielectric-magnetic dual-loss mechanism that results in good impedance matching and multiple polarization loss arising from the extensive heterointerfaces (e.g., HCF-NC/Co, air-carbon, nitrogen-carbon, and Co-carbon interfaces), dipole active sites (e.g., doped N, Co particle, and crystalline defects in graphitic carbon), and hierarchical porous structures, optimal EMW absorption performance of HCF@NC/Co is achieved through regulating the calcination temperature and filler content, where the HCF@NC/Co calcinated at 700 °C exhibits a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) value of -50.14 dB with only 14% filler loading and 2.25 mm thickness, and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB_max) also reaches 7.36 GHz. Meanwhile, adjustable EAB can also be achieved by optimizing the sample thickness, making it applicable in a wider frequency region. It is expected that our prepared HCF@NC/Co might shed light on designing lightweight and highly efficient EMW MOF-derived EMW absorbing materials.

Construction of MOF-derived plum-like NiCo@C composite with enhanced multi-polarization for high-efficiency microwave absorption

Nowadays, facing the inevitable electromagnetic (EM) pollution caused by many electronic products, it is urgent to develop high-performance microwave absorbing materials. In particular, the bimetallic carbon-based composites derived from MOFs exhibit excellent microwave absorption potential due to their simple preparation, low cost, adjustable morphology and magnetoelectric synergy mechanism. In this work, we successfully prepared plum-like NiCo@C composite by simple solvothermal method and carbonization treatment, which displays strong absorption (-55.4 dB) and wide effective absorption band (EAB, 7.2 GHz) when the loading is 20 wt%. The plum-like structure greatly enriches the non-uniform interface and the structural anisotropy contributes to the dissipation of electromagnetic waves. At the same time, the band hybridization and magnetic coupling of NiCo@C contribute to the coordination of EM characteristics. Overall, this work proves the feasibility of NiCo@C hierarchical composite in the field of microwave absorbing, and provides insight for the development of high-performance absorbers.

Composition Optimization and Microstructure Design in MOFs-Derived Magnetic Carbon-Based Microwave Absorbers: A Review

Magnetic carbon-based composites are the most attractive candidates for electromagnetic (EM) absorption because they can terminate the propagation of surplus EM waves in space by interacting with both electric and magnetic branches. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have demonstrated their great potential as sacrificing precursors of magnetic metals/carbon composites, because they provide a good platform to achieve high dispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in carbon matrix. Nevertheless, the chemical composition and microstructure of these composites are always highly dependent on their precursors and cannot promise an optimal EM state favorable for EM absorption, which more or less discount the superiority of MOFs-derived strategy. It is hence of great importance to develop some accompanied methods that can regulate EM properties of MOFs-derived magnetic carbon-based composites effectively. This review comprehensively introduces recent advancements on EM absorption enhancement in MOFs-derived magnetic carbon-based composites and some available strategies therein. In addition, some challenges and prospects are also proposed to indicate the pending issues on performance breakthrough and mechanism exploration in the related field.

Fabrication of one-dimensional CoFe2/C@MoS2 composites as efficient electromagnetic wave absorption materials

New types of electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption materials with a light weight, strong absorption ability and wide absorption frequency have been widely explored. Nevertheless, it is still an intractable challenge to design the structure of the materials and rationalize multiple components. In this work, one-dimensional (1D) CoFe₂/C@MoS₂ composites were prepared via electrospinning technology, high-temperature carbonization and hydrothermal method. SEM and TEM images reveal that the as-prepared CoFe₂/C fibers with a 1D structure are well coated with MoS₂. The excellent absorption performance of the composites is mainly attributed to the 1D structure and the ideal impedance matching. CoFe₂/C@MoS₂ composites show strong absorption ability with an optimal reflection loss (RL) of -66.8 dB (13.28 GHz) at a matching thickness of 2.12 mm. Meanwhile, the composite possesses an effective absorption frequency range between 10.70 and 16.02 GHz with a bandwidth of 5.32 GHz. These results indicate that CoFe₂/C@MoS₂ composites will become promising lightweight and highly efficient MA materials.

NiCo alloy/C nanocomposites derived from a Ni-doped ZIF-67 for lightweight microwave absorbers

In this work, we prepared NiCo alloy/C with rhombic dodecahedron structure and superior microwave absorption performance by using ZIF-67 as the raw material. The rhombic dodecahedron NiCo alloy/C was with rough particles on the surface was photographed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. By adjusting the doping amount of Ni and the temperature of pyrolysis, improved the impedance matching of NiCo alloy/C. Specifically, NiCo alloy/C exhibits a minimum reflection loss of -65.48 dB at 13.48 GHz, while the thickness is 1.63 mm. Defects introduced in the Ni doping process and the special rhombic dodecahedral structure can cause multiple loss mechanisms. Therefore, this NiCo alloy/C composite has the potential to be a potential microwave absorber material with lightweight and high microwave absorption properties.

Functionalized carbonized monarch butterfly wing scales (FCBW) ornamented by β-Co(OH)2 nanoparticles: an investigation on its microwave, magnetic, and optical characteristics

In this research, a bioinspired carbon structure was applied as a novel, unique, green, affordable, light weight, thin, and broadband microwave absorbing material. Briefly, the monarch butterfly wing scales were pyrolyzed and then CBWs were functionalized using oxidative treatments, following that they were ornamented by hexagonal β-Co(OH)₂ nanoparticles to improve their microwave absorbing features based on an innovative complementary method by combining sonochemistry and hydrothermal routes. Noticeably, the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was used as a practical medium to fabricate the microwave absorbers developing an integrated structure and augmenting the relaxation loss mechanism. Various analyses were applied to identify the prepared samples including x-ray powder diffraction, diffuse reflection spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer, and vector network analyzer. The net-like morphology of FCBWs were fully coated by the hierarchical hexagonal β-Co(OH)₂ nanoparticles. FCBW illustrated a saturation magnetization of 0.06 emu g^-1 originated from its defects, distortions, dislocations, unique morphology, as well as folding, developing localized magnetic moments. Noticeably, inserting FCBWs narrow the energy bandgap of β-Co(OH)₂ nanoparticles, amplifying their light absorption and polarizability, desirable for the microwave attenuation. As revealed, FCBW/β-Co(OH)₂/PAN nanocomposite gained strong reflection loss (RL) of 68.41 at 9.08 GHz, while FCBW/PAN achieved broadband efficient bandwidth as wide as 7.97 GHz (RL > 10 dB) with a thickness of 2.00 mm. More significantly, β-Co(OH)₂/PAN nanocomposites demonstrated salient efficient bandwidth of 3.62 GHz (RL > 20 dB) with only 2.50 mm in thickness. Noteworthy, the eye-catching microwave absorptions were obtained by only filler loading of 10 Wt%. The remarkable microwave absorbing properties of the samples were generated from their microwave absorbing mechanisms which were scrupulously dissected. More significantly, the negative imaginary parts were obtained, originated from the produced secondary fields.

Fabrication of N-Doped Reduced Graphite Oxide/MnCo2O4 Nanocomposites for Enhanced Microwave Absorption Performance

The present work reports on the fabrication of a lightweight microwave absorber comprising MnCo₂O₄ prepared from the urea complex of manganese (Mn)/cobalt (Co) and nitrogen-doped reduced graphite oxide (NRGO) by facile hydrothermal method followed by annealing process and characterized. The phase analysis, compositional, morphological, magnetic, and conductivity measurements indicated dispersion of paramagnetic MnCo₂O₄ spherical particles on the surface of NRGO. Our findings also showed that Mn, Co-urea complex, and GO in the weight ratio of 1:4 (NGMC3) exhibited maximum shielding efficiency in the range of 55-38 dB with absorption as an overall dominant shielding mechanism. The reflection loss of NGMC3 was found to be in the range of -90 to -77 dB with minima at -103 dB (at 2.9 GHz). Such outstanding electromagnetic wave absorption performance of NRGO/MnCo₂O₄ nanocomposite compared to several other metal cobaltates could be attributed to the formation of percolated network assisted electronic polarization, interfacial polarization and associated relaxation losses, conductance loss, dipole polarization and corresponding relaxation loss, impedance matching, and magnetic resonance to some extent.

Facile synthesis of 3D Ni@C nanocomposites derived from two kinds of petal-like Ni-based MOFs towards lightweight and efficient microwave absorbers

The development of lightweight and high-efficiency microwave absorption materials has attracted wide attention in the field of electromagnetic wave absorption. Herein, two kinds of petal-like Ni-based MOFs were grown on the surface of graphene nanosheets, and then pyrolyzed to obtain new microwave absorbers. The extraordinary microwave absorption performance mainly comes from: the unique petal-like porous carbon framework of MOFs, the 3D conductive network formed by the connection of GNs, the polarization process between the interfaces of multiple heterogeneous components and high impedance matching brought about by magnetic Ni nanoparticles. By adjusting the filling ratio to only 10 wt%, the optimum reflection loss of the prepared composites is up to -53.99 dB, and the effective absorption bandwidth reaches 4.39 GHz when the matching thickness is only 1.4 mm. This work provides not only a facile method for the design and fabrication of two high-efficiency microwave absorbers, but also a reference for the precise control of electromagnetic absorption properties.

Recent progress of MOF-derived porous carbon materials for microwave absorption

Microwave absorbing materials (MAM) have attracted considerable attention over the years in stealth and information technologies. Metal–organic framework (MOF) with a unique microstructure and electronic state has become an attractive focus as self-sacrificing precursors of microwave absorbers. The MOF-derived porous carbon (PC) materials exhibit a high absorbing performance due to the stable three-dimensional structure and homogeneous distribution of metal particles. MOF-derived PC materials are promising for ideal MAM via tuning of the structure and composition, resulting in appropriate impedance matching and the synergistic effect between magnetic and dielectric loss. In this review, the MOF-derived PC materials and their basic absorption mechanisms (dielectric loss, magnetic loss and impedance matching) are introduced, as well as the characters of various MOF-derived PC materials. In addition, this review provides a comprehensive introduction and tabulates the recent progress based on the classification of the MOF-derived metallic state, such as pure PC (without reduced metals), mono-metal/PC, multi-metal/PC, metal oxides/PC and other derived PC composites. Finally, the challenges faced by MOF-derived PC materials are overviewed, and their further development is mentioned.

MOF-derived PC materials with unique characteristic have been widely concerned as microwave absorbers over the years.