Ultralight Magnetic and Dielectric Aerogels Achieved by Metal–Organic Framework Initiated Gelation of Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Microwave Absorption

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are used to directly initiate the gelation of graphene oxide (GO), producing MOF/rGO aerogels. The ultralight magnetic and dielectric aerogels show remarkable microwave absorption performance with ultralow filling contents. The development of a convenient methodology for synthesizing the hierarchically porous aerogels comprising metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and graphene oxide (GO) building blocks that exhibit an ultralow density and uniformly distributed MOFs on GO sheets is important for various applications. Herein, we report a facile route for synthesizing MOF/reduced GO (rGO) aerogels based on the gelation of GO, which is directly initiated using MOF crystals. Free metal ions exposed on the surface of MIL-88A nanorods act as linkers that bind GO nanosheets to a three-dimensional porous network via metal-oxygen covalent or electrostatic interactions. The MOF/rGO-derived magnetic and dielectric aerogels Fe₃O₄@C/rGO and Ni-doped Fe₃O₄@C/rGO show notable microwave absorption (MA) performance, simultaneously achieving strong absorption and broad bandwidth at low thickness of 2.5 (- 58.1 dB and 6.48 GHz) and 2.8 mm (- 46.2 dB and 7.92 GHz) with ultralow filling contents of 0.7 and 0.6 wt%, respectively. The microwave attenuation ability of the prepared aerogels is further confirmed via a radar cross-sectional simulation, which is attributed to the synergistic effects of their hierarchically porous structures and heterointerface engineering. This work provides an effective pathway for fabricating hierarchically porous MOF/rGO hybrid aerogels and offers magnetic and dielectric aerogels for ultralight MA.