Ultralow-content Co decoration on Ti3C2Tx MXene induced electromagnetic characteristic modulation for efficient microwave absorption

Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene has been regarded as a promising candidate for advanced microwave absorption materials. However, the microwave absorbing performance of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene is suppressed by the single dielectric loss mechanism and impedance mismatch because of the high conductivity. To effectuate a good absorption capability of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene, this paper constructs a heterostructured Co/Ti 3 C 2 T x hybrid by atomic layer deposition of magnetic Co nanoparticles on Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets . The microstructures, magnetism , and microwave absorption behaviors of the Co/Ti 3 C 2 T x hybrids are investigated systematically. The results show that the frequency-dependent electromagnetic parameters of the Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene become tunable by controlling the content of Co decorations, which are conducive to both magnetic loss and impedance matching . The Co/Ti 3 C 2 T x hybrid with ultralow Co decoration content (only 1.52 wt%) achieves the minimum reflect loss of −54.32 dB at a thin matched thickness of 1.29 mm, and the corresponding effective absorption bandwidth with reflection loss below −10 dB reaches 4.29 GHz. The atomic layer deposited magnetic metal nanostructures provides an effective strategy for preparing MXene-based hybrids which not only have high absorption efficiency but also significantly reduce the use of magnetic metals.