A novel 1D/2D interpenetrating network architecture of MXene/cellulose composite microfiber and graphene for broadband microwave absorption

Exploiting diverse electromagnetic wave absorbers by introducing novel nanomaterials is an attractive strategy to address the issue of electromagnetic pollution. Ti3C2Tx MXene has been considered as a promising candidate for efficient microwave absorption but remains a contradiction between maintaining impedance matching and enhancing dielectric loss. To overcome this challenge, a unique 1D/2D interpenetrating network architecture consisting of 1D MXene/cellulose (MC) composite microfibers and a graphene porous framework is designed in this work. Ti3C2Tx MXene is loaded on flexible carboxymethyl cellulose microfibers to form a 1D core–shell structure by self-assembly and cross-linked with reduced graphene oxide layers via hydrothermal reduction to prepare the MC/graphene aerogel (MCGA). The intricate cross-linking network and abundant binding interface in the aerogel promote the conductive loss and polarization loss, while the MC microfiber improves the overall impedance matching degree by ameliorating the internal aperture structure. The optimal reflection loss of MCGA is −87.48 dB and the broadest effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) reaches 10.4 GHz, which is superior to almost all conventional MXene-based microwave absorbers. Moreover, MCGA exhibits multifunctional attributes including hydrophobicity, thermal insulation, and compressibility, revealing the validity and advantage of this design route.