Inimitable 3D pyrolytic branched hollow architecture with multi-scale conductive network for microwave absorption

To solve the electromagnetic pollution problem, the reasonable structure design and component control of the electromagnetic absorber is prominent. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) pyrolytic branched hollow architecture carbon PBHAC/MoS2 composites were prepared via a hydrothermal and calcination two-step strategy. The narrow-gap nano-size MoS2 acquired after vulcanization and micro-size 3D branched carbon skeleton PBHAC possess intensified conduction losses. Particularly, the presence of potential differences between different phases creates a space charge region at the heterogeneous interface, resulting in strong interfacial polarization. The resulting 3D branched hollow PBHAC/MoS2 composites exhibit optimized impedance matching and multiple loss mechanisms. Finally, the 3D branched hollow carbon PBHAC/MoS2 composites have the best electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) is –57.8 dB at 1.93 mm and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) is 6.08 GHz at 2 mm, which indicates the excellent EMW absorption performance of the composites. Accordingly, this composite is expected to be a microwave absorber with the characteristics of "thin, light, wide, and strong".