Recent progress on electromagnetic wave absorption materials enabled by electrospun carbon nanofibers

With the rapid advancement of telecommunications and the extensive usage of electronic products, electromagnetic wave (EMW) radiation pollution has become an environmental concern or safety threat in personal healthcare, information security, and military stealth. Nevertheless, it is highly desired but challenging to develop lightweight, flexible, and high-efficiency EMW absorption materials that can alleviate the adverse interference in wide-range frequency. Numerous magnetic and conductive materials including carbon, metal, and intrinsically conductive polymers can be used for EMW absorption materials. Among them, electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are regarded as promising candidates for high-performance EMW absorption materials owing to the advantages of soft texture, porous fiber structure, high surface area, and tunable compositions. In this review, we have systematically summarized the recent progress in carbon nanofibrous membranes with different nanostructures via electrospinning method. The EMW absorption mechanism, fabrication processes, performance characterizations, practical applications, existing problems, and future prospects are logically described at great length. This comprehensive review may provide useful and instructive information to enlighten potential readers in relevant research fields.