Ferrite doped sucrose-derived porous carbon composites inspired by Pharaoh's Serpent for broadband electromagnetic wave absorption

Abstract

This paper presents a straightforward and intriguing approach for designing wide bandwidth, lightweight, and tunable electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials. Drawing inspiration from the "Pharaoh's Snake", biomass carbon source and sucrose were used to fabricate Fe/Fe3O4@porous carbon (PC) composite materials through combustion experiments. Subsequently, high-temperature calcination was applied to enhance the microwave absorbing properties of the materials. The as-prepared composites demonstrate an impressive 6.62 GHz effective bandwidth and an excellent absorption ability of −51.54 dB at a matched thickness of 2.2 mm. Moreover, by tuning the content of magnetic particles and controlling the thickness of the composite material, comprehensive coverage across C, X, and Ku bands can be achieved. The outstanding performance suggests that the synthesized Fe/Fe3O4@PC porous materials hold significant potential for applications in electromagnetic wave absorption. It opens up a novel, straightforward, and cost-effective approach to acquiring broadband absorbing materials.