Fabrication of hollow Ni/NiO/C/MnO2@polypyrrole core-shell structures for high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption

In response to the increasingly serious problem of electromagnetic wave pollution, there is a growing demand for materials capable of absorbing electromagnetic waves. A crucial strategy involves optimizing the microstructure and composition of these materials. In this study, the Ni/NiO/C/MnO2@PPy (NCMP) composites are successfully fabricated through the combination of hydrothermal method, high-temperature calcination process, chemical method and in situ polymerization. Due to the strong synergistic effect of the dielectric and magnetic components, and good impedance match, the NCMP-40 exhibits excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties, with an optimal reflection loss (RLmin) of −56.23 dB at a thickness of 3.87 mm, and a high effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 6.86 GHz (10.68–17.54 GHz) at a thickness of 1.97 mm covering the entire Ku-band part of the X-band. Moreover, the radar cross section (RCS) attenuation is obtained through a simulation procedure. Compared to the sole perfect electrically conductive (PEC) layer, the PEC layer coated with NCMP-40 achieves an RCS value consistently below −10 dB m2 in the range of −60° < θ < 60°, and an RCS value is −22.0 dB m2 at θ = 0°. The prepared NCMP-40 presented herein shows excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performances. And this study provides a new method for the structural design of electromagnetic wave absorption materials.