Bimetal–organic frameworks derived tuneable Co nanoparticles embedded in porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanorods as high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption materials

Abstract

The in situ pyrolysis of metal–organic-frameworks (MOFs) is an effective strategy to prepare magnetic metal nanoparticle (NP) doped porous carbon materials. These composite materials have shown great potential as high performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials. So far, the precise control of composite composition and structure has remained a major challenge in constructing highly porous composites with uniformly distributed NPs. In this work, we report a facile route to synthesize tuneable Co NPs embedded in porous nitrogen-doped carbon (Co/NC) nanorods through the direct thermolysis of the bimetal–organic framework (CoZn–ZIF) precursor. By adjusting the proportion of Co²⁺ in the MOF precursor, the content and distribution of Co NPs in the composite absorber change accordingly. When the molar ratio between Co²⁺ and Zn²⁺ is 3 : 1, the carbonized composites exhibit the largest external surface area and the best EMW absorption performance. With a filler mass loading of merely 15 wt%, the minimum reflection loss (RL_min) reaches −52.3 dB at 10.1 GHz with a thin layer thickness of 2.5 mm. The largest effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.0 GHz (11.1–16.1 GHz) is achieved in a 2.0 mm thick sample. The qualified bandwidth can be up to 14.5 GHz (3.5–18.0 GHz) with the integrated thickness from 1.0 mm to 5.5 mm. The enhanced conductive/magnetic losses, strong interfacial/dipolar/defect polarization, hierarchical pore structure and the geometric effect endow the Co/NC absorber with improved impedance matching and enhanced attenuation of EMW. This work provides a good direction for the future study of MOF-derived lightweight and efficient EMW absorbing materials.