Controllable Synthesis of Mo ₃C ₂ Encapsulated by N-Doped Carbon Microspheres to Achieve Highly Efficient Microwave Absorption at Full Wavebands: From Lemon-like to Fig-like Morphologies

Abstract

Mo3C2@N-doped carbon microspheres (Mo3C2@NC) have been discovered to be a family of superior microwave absorbing materials. Herein, Mo3C2@NC was synthesized through a simple high-temperature carbonization process by evaporating a graphite anode and Mo wire in Ar and N2 atmospheres with an N-doping content of 6.4 at. %. Attributing to the self-assembly mechanism, the number of Mo wires inserted into the graphite anode determined the morphologies of Mo3C2@NC, which were the unique lemon-like (1- and 2-Mo3C2@NC) and fig-like (3-, 4-, and 5-Mo3C2@NC) microstructures. 1- and 2-Mo3C2@NC exhibited powerful reflection losses (RLs) of -45.60, -45.59, and -47.11 dB at the S, C and X bands, respectively, which corresponded to thinner thicknesses. 3-, 4-, and 5-Mo3C2@NC showed outstanding absorption performance at the C, X, and Ku bands, respectively, with each value of a minimum RL less than -43.00 dB. In particular, the strongest RL (-43.56 dB) for 5-Mo3C2@NC corresponded to an ultrathin thickness of 1.3 mm. In addition, the maximum effective absorption bandwidth was 6.3 GHz for 4-Mo3C2@NC. After analysis, all Mo3C2@NC samples showed well-matched impedance due to the enhanced dielectric loss caused by the unique carbon structure and moderate magnetic loss derived from the weak magnetic property of Mo3C2. More importantly, the unique lemon-like and fig-like microstructures created sufficient interfaces and differentiated multiple reflection paths, which greatly contributed to the strong microwave absorptions at full wavebands. In full consideration of the simple preparation method and tunable absorption properties, Mo3C2@NC composites can be regarded as excellent electromagnetic wave absorption materials.