Multifunctional microwave absorption materials of multiscale cobalt sulfide/diatoms co-doped carbon aerogel

Jun Wang; Mengjie Han; Yanan Liu; Yang Xiang; Chaobo Liang; Xiaogang Su; Yaqing Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.094

Multifunctional microwave absorption materials of multiscale cobalt sulfide/diatoms co-doped carbon aerogel

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Sep 15:646:970-979. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.094. Epub 2023 May 20.

Authors

Jun Wang¹, Mengjie Han¹, Yanan Liu¹, Yang Xiang¹, Chaobo Liang², Xiaogang Su³, Yaqing Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Functional Nanocomposites of Shanxi Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China.
² Key Laboratory of Functional Nanocomposites of Shanxi Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China; China-Blarus Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Electromagnetic Environment Effect, Taiyuan 030051, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Functional Nanocomposites of Shanxi Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China. Electronic address: sxgwhut@163.com.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Functional Nanocomposites of Shanxi Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China. Electronic address: lyq@nuc.edu.cn.

PMID: 37235942
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.094

Abstract

Microwave absorption materials (MAMs) have attracted much attention for their potential applications in stealth technology and prevention of electromagnetic pollution problems. Multifunctional MAMs are highly demanded because they can be applied in harsh environments. Hence, based on multiscale manipulation of atomic engineering, nanostructure and microstructure, a multiscale hollow cobalt sulfide/diatoms co-doped carbon aerogel was preparedthrough the physical crosslinking of divalent ions, unidirectional freezing, kirkendall effect, and heteroatomic doping. The aerogel with a low density of 13.1 mg/mm³ has a unique "lamellar-pillar" network structure due to the growth of ice crystals during the preparation process. With the assistance of thiourea, the doping of N, S atoms and the construction of hollow cobalt sulfide are accomplished simultaneously. The ingenious integration facilitates the synergistic effect of conductive loss, defect polarization, interfacial polarization, and multiple scattering. The multiscale hollow cobalt sulfide/diatoms co-doped carbon aerogel had a maximum reflection loss of -51.96 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 6.4 GHz, which is higher than that of other reported MAMs. It is further verified through finite element simulation and experiments that the aerogel has an excellent microwave absorption properties. In addition, the aerogel has excellent thermal insulation and flame retardant properties. Therefore, the development of this aerogel can help to use MAMs in complex applications.

Keywords: Diatoms co-doped carbon aerogel; Hollow cobalt sulfide; Microwave absorption materials; Multifunctionality; Multiscale design.