Defect introduction and interfacial strategies for enhancing microwave absorption in carbon-based materials

Poor impedance matching and a single loss mechanism are typical challenges for carbon-based materials to become efficient microwave absorbers. To address these issues, defect introduction and interfacial strategies are effective methods for enhancing microwave absorption through the micro-mechanism of material interaction with microwaves. Additionally, forming a homogeneous composite material is crucial for achieving good impedance matching. In this study, we used a controlled solvent-thermal method to achieve self-assembled interfacial intercalation, yielding amorphous VOPO 4 /rGO nanohybrids, which show significantly enhanced microwave absorption properties. The abundant defects introduced by VOPO 4 within the amorphous layered composites disrupt the charge distribution, contributing to polarization loss. The graphene nanosheets expose more VOPO 4 structural units, facilitating increased conductivity and enriching the microwave absorption mechanism. As a result, the prepared VOPO 4 /rGO nanohybrids demonstrate outstanding microwave absorption, with the effective absorption bandwidth covering the entire Ku-band (11.6–18.0 GHz) at a thickness of 2.3 mm. This research provides an important reference for understanding the mechanisms that enhance the electromagnetic wave absorption of carbon-based materials.