Design and Synthesis of 3D-Graphene@C/Co@N-C Composites with Broadband Microwave Absorption Performance

Abstract

Improving the microwave absorption performance of Co-MOF-derived Co@N-C composite by constructing the morphology and spatial structure is a known challenge. In this work, under the action of the binder polyvinylpyrrolidone, 3D-graphene particles can be well decorated on the surface of the Co@N-C composite after high-temperature pyrolysis. In addition, due to the structural characteristics of MOFs, Co particles can be well covered by a carbon layer, which effectively solves the problem that magnetic metal particles are prone to corrosion and oxidation. The microwave absorption performances of the composite can be well adjusted by changing the average dotted density of the 3D-graphene on the Co@N-C composite. It is worth noting that the maximum reflection loss can reach −58.72 dB at the thickness of 1.64 mm, and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth can achieve 5.74 GHz at the 1.79 mm thickness, which almost covers the whole Ku band. Importantly, these results demonstrate that 3D-graphene@C/Co@N-C composites have great potential as high-efficiency microwave absorption materials.