Synthesis of ternary core-shell structured ZnOC@CoC@PAN for high-performance electromagnetic absorption

Abstract

A novel ternary core-shell structured ZnOC@CoC@PAN as an electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorber was successfully fabricated by calcining precursor ZIF-8@ZIF-67 and covering the product with conductive polyaniline (PAN). The multicomponent core-shell structure and the conductive polymer coating were conducive to increasing the dielectric loss, magnetic loss, interfacial polarization, and conductivity loss to dissipate EMW energy. Adjusting the amount of aniline gave ZnOC@CoC@PAN-0.5, which had excellent EMW absorption performance. The minimum reflection loss ( RL min ) was −50.62 dB at 13.66 GHz and the effective absorption bandwidth (RL < −10 dB) reached 5.86 GHz with a matching thickness of 2.05 mm. This novel core-shell structured ZnOC@CoC@PAN has great potential in the field of EMW absorption. • ZnOC@CoC@PAN has a unique ternary shell structure, which can construct multiple interfaces to enhance interfacial polarization. • The RL min is −50.62 dB at 13.66 GHz and the effective absorption bandwidth is up to 5.86 GHz with the matching thickness of 2.05 mm. • The mechanism of absorption is explored from the microscopic perspective.