Ultralight, tunable monolithic SiC aerogel for electromagnetic absorption with broad absorption band

Abstract

SiC aerogel is a novel candidate for electromagnetic absorption (EMA) materials in extreme environments because of its ceramic nature and aerogel morphology. In this study, graphene oxide (GO), which having has been generally serving served as a “brick” in the material community, was used as a building block to prepare SiC aerogel precursors and further develop a novel and designable route for preparing SiC aerogel for EMA. The experimental results suggested that the GO aerogel was well converted into a SiC aerogel with ultra-low density (<4 mg cm−3). The synthesized SiC aerogel inherited the precursor well in structure while having a wide absorption band (approximately 5.5GHz) and a high absorption frequency-to-thickness correlation different from traditional SiC aerogels. The above idea for designing and assembling SiC aerogels will significantly broaden the practical applications of GO and SiC in EMA, supercapacitors and sensors.