Electromagnetic wave absorption properties and microstructural evolution of TiC-modified polymer-derived SiC ceramics

In order to mitigate the adverse effects of electromagnetic pollution, there is an increasing demand for high-performance electromagnetic absorbing materials. Ceramic materials are gained widespread application in the domain of electromagnetic absorption due to their excellent resistance to high temperature, corrosion, and oxidation. This paper presents the design and synthesis of a SiC/TiC ceramic with superior electromagnetic absorption properties, achieved through the polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) method. In this process, phenolic resin was employed as the carbon source, titanium isooctylate served as the titanium source, and chloromethyl dimethyl chlorosilane was utilized as the silicon source. The ceramic material exhibited optimal wave absorption characteristics at a Si:Ti ratio of 5:1. At a matching thickness of 2.0 mm, the maximum effective absorption bandwidth reached 3.45 GHz (ranging from 10.69 to 14.14 GHz), with a minimum reflection loss (RL) value of −42.8 dB, indicating that 99.992 % of the electromagnetic wave was absorbed by the SiC/TiC ceramic material. This study offers an effective strategy for the design of electromagnetic absorbing ceramic materials.