Biopolymer nanofiber/reduced graphene oxide aerogels for tunable and broadband high-performance microwave absorption. (15th March 2019) - Kuang, Boya
Abstract: Natural biopolymer cellulose nanofiber (CNF)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid aerogels are developed for light-weight and high-efficiency microwave absorption (MA) materials. To evaluate the MA performance, CNF/rGO composites with different rGO/CNF ratios are fabricated, and the microstructure of CNF/rGO composites is tuned by changing the concentration of CNF precursor solution. It demonstrates that the MA performance is determined by not only the rGO addition but also the concentration of CNF aqueous precursor solution, evidencing the important role of microstructure of CNF/rGO composites in MA performance. The CNF/10% rGO composite prepared by 0.75% CNF solution exhibits superior MA performance with the maximum reflection loss (RL) of −40.64 dB and effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) (RL < −10 dB) up to 7.72 GHz at the thickness of 2.5 mm. This work provides an effective strategy to design polymer/rGO hybrid materials for improving microwave absorption properties with tunable frequency and broad absorption bandwidth. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: CNF/rGO aerogels with different rGO/CNF ratios and concentration of CNF are obtained. Changing CNF concentration realizes controllable microstructure, turning MA performance. This research evidences the important role of microstructure in MA performance. This work provides an effective route to design polymer/rGO for high-efficient MA.