Optimal electrical conductivity and interfacial polarization induced by loaded nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes for excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance

Carbon materials have aroused wide attention in the field of electromagnetic wave absorption because of their advantages of good electrical conductivity, low density and adjustable structure. To obtain enhanced performance of electromagnetic wave absorption, the elaborate design of structures for carbon materials has become essential. In this work, the nitrogen-doped and large diameter carbon nanotubes modified with cobalt nanoparticles (M-Co/C-CNTs) composites were successfully prepared by adsorption and carbonization of the gases generated by organic matter pyrolysis. It is concluded that the enhanced conduction loss and polarization loss are attributed to the interfacial electronic engineering induced by the sensibly loaded cobalt nanoparticles and nitrogen doping. As a result, the samples achieved a broad effective absorption bandwidth of 4.56 GHz, and a strong reflection loss of −52.2 dB with a thin thickness of 2.1 mm. This work proposes a tailored way to fabricate the large diameter carbon nanotube composites and enhance electromagnetic wave absorption through novel structural modulation.