CNTs/PVA Composite Aerogel for Efficient Microwave and Acoustic Absorption

Abstract

The lightweight three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) aerogel has garnered significant interest due to their exceptional characteristics, including high porosity, large specific surface area, and a 3D conductive network. These characteristics make it as a promising candidate for various applications in microwave absorption. However, to construct a multifunctional framework, that can swiftly adapt to complex real-world environments, remains a large challenge. In this study, we fabricated a multifunctional CNTs/polyvinyl alcohol composite aerogel (CPA). Integrating polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) into CNTs aerogel could effectively prevent CNTs aggregation, thus obtaining the remarkable electromagnetic absorption, acoustic, mechanical, and thermal properties. The minimum reflection loss (RL) of CPA achieved an outstanding value of -39.77 dB, measured with a thickness of 2 mm. In addition, CPA showed excellent sound absorption performance, with the highest sound absorption coefficient (SAC) of 0.981. Sound transmission loss (STL) could be improved by adjusting the ratio of CPA, the improvement of STL was 5-8 dB at the mid-high frequencies. Finally, CPA also exhibited excellent thermal insulation performance with the lowest thermal conductivity of 0.0297 W/m·k. The multifunctional capabilities of CPA position it as a highly promising material for various applications, such as microwave absorption, noise reduction, and heat preservation.