One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of MWCNT/ZrO2 Composites for Enhancing Electromagnetic Wave Absorption Performance

Abstract

Electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption materials have drawn a lot of attention because they can effectively reduce EM wave pollution from electronic equipment. In this work, we combined ZrO2 nanoparticles with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and explored applications of MWCNT/ZrO2 composites in EM wave absorbing field. ZrO2 nanoparticles with a high crystalline were synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method. Adding MWCNTs in this hydrothermal process, ZrO2 nanoparticles aggregated together to form uneven lumps and wraps on MWCNTs surfaces. MWCNTs improved the conductivity loss and electron polarization capability of composites. The minimum reflection loss (RL) of MWCNT/ZrO2 composites reached [Formula: see text]39.73 dB at a thickness of 2[Formula: see text]mm. Such excellent EM wave absorption properties are attributed to the dielectric loss, dipole polarizations and interfacial polarizations. This composite can be a promising candidate as high efficiency EM wave absorption material and used for commercial production because of the simple synthesis methods.