Solvent-conditioned Ni-MOF-derived flower-like porous carbon composites for electromagnetic wave absorption

Porous and layered structures can enhance interfacial polarization, and hierarchical porous composites have high dielectric loss, which can improve electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance, but challenges remain. In this paper, flower-like Ni/C nanocomposites with different morphologies were obtained by adjusting the amount of solvent and heat treatment after the Ar atmosphere. The results show that Ni metals lead to magnetic loss and carbon nanotubes lead to conduction loss, and electromagnetic synergy promote enhance interfacial polarization. Moreover, the large specific surface area and hierarchical porous increase the propagation path of electromagnetic waves, resulting in scattering and multiple reflection of the EMW. Therefore, a minimum reflection loss of − 42.8 dB corresponding to an absorption bandwidth of 5.7 GHz was achieved for the Ni/C nanocomposites. This work shows that the MOF-based Ni/C composites can provide a great idea for the design and manufacture of wave-absorbing materials.