Tuning the morphology and pyrolysis process of rare-earth Gd-doped prussian blue derivatives for electromagnetic wave absorption and anti-corrosion performance

Abstract

Prussian blue analogs (PBA) derivatives have been researched extensively as electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers. However, the metallic components are typically transition-metal elements, which results in limited potential for optimization of their EMW absorbing performance. In this work, GdCo-PBA derivates with different carbon nanotubes (CNTs) morphologies and phase compositions were synthesized via tuning the pyrolysis rate and the dielectric loss capability can be tuned. As a result, the R-GdN/Co@CNTs achieved the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −36.74 dB@1.7 mm and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.61 GHz @ 2.0 mm due to the combined effect of the interconnected CNTs conduction network and the GdN phase in optimizing the impedance matching and enhancing the dielectric loss. Meanwhile, the radar cross section (RCS) simulation and electrochemical corrosion tests confirmed that GdCo-PBA derivatives can significantly reduce RCS values of 28.6 dBm2 @ 15° and possessed satisfied anti-corrosion properties with a corrosion current density of 2.06 × 10−5 A/cm2 and polarization resistance of 2.57 × 104 Ω, which displayed significant potential for practical applications in extreme marine environments. This work presents a strategy for synthesizing lanthanide PBA derivates with the EMW absorbing and anti-corrosion properties.