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The impact of carbonization temperature on the microwave-absorbing properties of hollow porous carbon spheres

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Abstract

The increasing problem of electromagnetic pollution has significant drawbacks on both the accurate functioning of electronic facilities and the welfare of humans. To combat and eliminate the impact of electromagnetic radiation, it is crucial to design microwave-absorbing materials that possess both strong absorption strength and a broad frequency range. This study employed a straightforward sol–gel technique to regulate the hydrolysis reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and the synthesis reaction of phenolic resin. The objective was to fabricate a core–shell precursor consisting of silica coated with phenolic resin/silica spheres. Hollow carbon spheres with a porous structure were created using a process including high-temperature calcination with argon gas atmosphere and pickling etching. The manipulation of calcination temperature allows for the convenient adjustment of both the degree of graphitization and dielectric characteristics of hollow porous carbon spheres. The micromorphology, phase composition, graphitization degree, specific surface area, pore size, dielectric properties, and absorption properties were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, specific surface and porosity analyzer, and vector network analysis, respectively. The result indicates a positive correlation between the graphitization degree and the calcination temperature. With an ultralow filling ratio of 3.6 wt%, hollow porous carbon spheres calcinated at 1000 °C have a minimum reflection loss (RL) value of − 60.92 dB at a thickness of 2.3 mm, and the absorption bandwidth for RL ≤ − 10 dB is as large as 7.64 GHz at a thickness of 2.6 mm. The aforementioned observation provides evidence that the manipulation of graphitization degrees in hollow porous carbon spheres holds promise for improving their absorption bandwidth. The results obtained from this research can provide a foundational framework for the progress and use of absorbent materials based on carbon.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Shaanxi Provincial Innovative Talent Promotion Plan—Youth Science and Technology New Star Project (Talent) (No. 2023KJXX-075), the Youth Innnovation Team of Shaanxi Universities Project (No. 23JP072), the Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (Grant No. 2022JM-188), and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for University Students (No. 202311736004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material Engineering, Xi’an Aeronautical University, Xi’an, 710077, Shaanxi, China

    Yingying Zhou, Yingxian Zhang, Siyan Zhang, Yayi Cheng, Chenyu Zhu, Haonan Du, Chaoqun Yang, Dan Chen & Hui Xie

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  1. Yingying Zhou
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  2. Yingxian Zhang
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  3. Siyan Zhang
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Contributions

YYZ: conceptualization, experiment, data measurement and analysis, writing. YXZ: experiment, writing. SYZ: experiment, analysis. YYC: formal analysis. CYZ: data analysis. HND: methodology. CQY: formal curation. DC: review editing. HX: supervision and project administration.

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Correspondence to Yingying Zhou or Hui Xie.

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Zhou, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, S. et al. The impact of carbonization temperature on the microwave-absorbing properties of hollow porous carbon spheres. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 789 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12549-w

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