Flexible Hierarchical Hollow SiC/SiO_x Micro/nanofiber Sponges for Broadband Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) porous materials possess exceptional electromagnetic wave absorption capabilities. In recent years, various SiC-based wave-absorbing materials have been developed. However, their inherent brittleness restricts their applications, posing an ongoing challenge in balancing wave absorption with mechanical performance. Herein, a templated chemical vapor deposition strategy was employed to fabricate hierarchical hollow SiC micro/nanofiber sponges (HHSMSs). The directional growth and orderly arrangement of SiC nanorods on the template fibers construct a micro–nano-structured SiC shell layer. By controlling the reaction time, the thickness of this shell layer can be tuned between 0.4 and 3.1 µm. Moreover, during the deposition process, an amorphous SiO_x structure tends to form on the outer surface of the fibers. Owing to this amorphous SiO_x structure, HHSMSs demonstrate excellent flexibility and elasticity, allowing them to be bent by 180° and compressed by 60%. In addition, the hierarchical hollow structure enhances impedance matching, resulting in superior electromagnetic wave absorption with a minimum reflection loss of −51.8 dB and an ultra-wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.6 GHz. These properties highlight the potential of these flexible, broadband-absorbing sponges for stealth and electromagnetic interference shielding in high-temperature environments.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Hierarchical hollow structure / SiC sponges / Growth regulation mechanism / Electromagnetic wave absorption / Flexibility / Engineering / Materials Engineering

References

[1] XiaoJ, ZhanB, HeM, QiX, GongX, YangJ-L, QuY, DingJ, ZhongW, GuJ. Interfacial Polarization Loss Improvement Induced by the Hollow Engineering of Necklace-like PAN/Carbon Nanofibers for Boosted Microwave Absorption. Adv Funct Mater, 2024.

[2] HuangB, WangZ, HuH, XiuZ, HuangX, YueJ, WangY. Enhancement of the microwave absorption properties of PyC-SiCf/SiC composites by electrophoretic deposition of SiC nanowires on SiC fibers. Ceram Int., 2020, 46: 9303

[3] RewatkarPM, TaghvaeeT, SaeedAM, DonthulaS, MandalC, ChandrasekaranN, LeventisT, ShruthiTK, Sotiriou-LeventisC, LeventisN. Sturdy, Monolithic SiC and Si₃N₄ Aerogels from Compressed Polymer-Cross-Linked Silica Xerogel Powders. Chem Mater., 2018, 30: 1635

[4] LiangCY, WangZJ. Eggplant-derived SiC aerogels with high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption and thermal insulation properties. Chem Eng J., 2019, 373: 598

[5] YanMY, ZhangHP, FuYY, PanYL, LunZY, ZhangZX, HeP, ChengXD. Implementing an Air Suction Effect Induction Strategy to Create Super Thermally Insulating and Superelastic SiC Aerogels. Small., 2022, 18: 2201039

[6] YanMY, ChengXD, ShiL, PanYL, HeP, ZhangZX, LunZY, FuYY, ZhangHP. Bioinspired SiC aerogels for super thermal insulation and adsorption with super-elasticity over 100,000 times compressions. Chem Eng J., 2023, 455: 140616

[7] WangJY, LiHY, LiuHL, LuL, WangT. "Finger coral-like" ceramic fiber aerogels with enhanced high-temperature thermal insulation, anti-oxidation, and mechanical performance. Compos Sci Technol., 2022, 225: 109515

[8] ChenY, HanL, OlaO, LiuG, WangN, SaadiZ, NevesAIS, TabariRS, ThummavichaiK, KhalilAME, XiaY, SunS, ZhuY. Multifunctional ultralight, recoverable, piezoresistive, and super thermal insulating SiC nanowire sponges. J Am Ceram Soc., 2023, 106: 1299

[9] LiuY, LiuY, ChoiWC, ChaeS, LeeJ, KimB-S, ParkM, KimHY. Highly flexible, erosion resistant and nitrogen doped hollow SiC fibrous mats for high temperature thermal insulators. J Mater Chem A., 2017, 5: 2664

[10] SuL, WangH, JiaS, DaiS, NiuM, RenJ, LuX, CaiZ, LuD, LiM, XuL, GuoS-W, ZhuangL, PengK. Highly Stretchable, Crack-Insensitive and Compressible Ceramic Aerogel. ACS Nano., 2021, 15: 18354

[11] SuL, WangHJ, NiuM, FanXY, MaMB, ShiZQ, GuoSW. Ultralight, Recoverable, and High-Temperature-Resistant SiC Nanowire Aerogel. ACS Nano., 2018, 12: 3103

[12] RenB, LiuJ, RongY, WangL, LuY, XiX, YangJ. Nanofibrous Aerogel Bulk Assembled by Cross-Linked SiC/SiOx Core-Shell Nanofibers with Multifunctionality and Temperature- Invariant Hyperelasticity. ACS Nano., 2019, 13: 11603

[13] ZhangX, YuJ, ZhaoC, SiY. Engineering Covalent Heterointerface Enables Superelastic Amorphous SiC Meta-Aerogels. ACS Nano., 2023, 17: 21813

[14] YanMY, ChengXD, GongLL, LunZY, HeP, ShiL, LiuCJ, PanYL. Growth mechanism and structure regulation of super-elastic SiC aerogels for thermal insulation and electromagnetic wave absorption. Chem Eng J., 2023, 475: 146417

[15] GongC, ChenZ, GengW, FuZ, ChenC, ZhangY, WangG. Controlled fabrication of nitrogen-doped porous carbon foam with refined hierarchical architectures for desalination via capacitive deionization. J Colloid Interf Sci., 2023, 643: 516

[16] ChabiS, RochaVG, Garcia-TunonE, FerraroC, SaizE, XiaYD, ZhuYQ. Ultralight, Strong, Three-Dimensional SiC Structures. ACS Nano., 2016, 10: 1871

[17] BechelanyM, BrioudeA, CornuD, FerroG, MieleP. A Raman Spectroscopy Study of Individual SiC Nanowires. Adv Funct Mater., 2007, 17: 939

[18] LiuR, LiuB, ZhangK, LiuM, ShaoY, TangC. High temperature oxidation behavior of SiC coating in TRISO coated particles. J Nucl Mater., 2014, 453: 107

[19] JunYS, ParkMG, UmJG, HabibpourS, SyS, ParkCB, YuAP. The conductivity of polydimethylsiloxane/graphene nano-ribbon foam composite with elongation. Carbon., 2020, 162: 328

[20] QuR, LuD, SuL, NiuM, PengK, GaoH, GuoP, XuL, ZhuangL, WangH. Oxidation behavior of SiC nanowires: A nanowire radius-dependent growth of oxide scale thickness. J Am Ceram Soc., 2023, 106: 681

[21] YouX, DaiGH, DengRX, ZhangT, SongLX, ZhangXY, DingYS, YangJS, DongSM. Fabrication of high-performance electromagnetic wave absorbing SiC composites reinforced by 3D printed carbon-based nanonetwork with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. Addit Manuf., 2022, 55: 102855

[22] YeXL, ChenZF, ZhangJX, WuC, XiangJF. SiC network reinforced SiO₂ aerogel with improved compressive strength and preeminent microwave absorption at elevated temperatures. Ceram Int., 2021, 47: 31497

[23] JiangY, ChenY, LiuY-J, SuiG-X. Lightweight spongy bone-like graphene@SiC aerogel composites for high-performance microwave absorption. Chem Eng J., 2018, 337: 522

[24] SongL, FanB, ChenY, WangH, LiH, ZhangR. Multifunctional SiC nanofiber aerogel with superior electromagnetic wave absorption. Ceram Int., 2022, 48: 25140

[25] HaoH, WangZ, ZhangY, LiuJ, WangZ. Multifunctional SiC nanowire aerogels with efficient electromagnetic wave absorption for applications in complex environments. Carbon., 2024, 230: 119653

[26] WuX, ShaoG, ShenX, CuiS, ChenX. Evolution of the novel C/SiO2/SiC ternary aerogel with high specific surface area and improved oxidation resistance. Chem Eng J., 2017, 330: 1022

[27] LiM, XiaoL, GuoP, NiH, LuD, XuL, WangL, ZhangJ, SuL, WangH. Resilient and Antipuncturing Si3N4 Nanofiber Sponge. Nano Lett., 2023, 23: 1289

[28] WangF, DouL, DaiJ, LiY, HuangL, SiY, YuJ, DingB. In situ Synthesis of Biomimetic Silica Nanofibrous Aerogels with Temperature-Invariant Superelasticity over One Million Compressions. Angew Chem Int Edit., 2020, 59: 8285

[29] ZhangX, ChengX, SiY, YuJ, DingB. All-Ceramic and Elastic Aerogels with Nanofibrous-Granular Binary Synergistic Structure for Thermal Superinsulation. ACS nano., 2022, 16: 5487

[30] MendelsonMI. On Si nitriding kinetics and mechanisms. J Mater Sci., 1979, 14: 1752

[31] GaoYH, BandoY, KurashimaK, SatoT. SiC nanorods prepared from SiO and activated carbon. J Mater Sci., 2002, 37: 2023

[32] SunKD, WangTT, GongWB, LuWY, HeX, EddingsEG, FanMH. Synthesis and potential applications of silicon carbide nanomaterials/nanocomposites. Ceram Int., 2022, 48: 32571

[33] WangJY, WangYQ, JiangR, ChenSS, HeQC, WuGL. Self-assembly of submillimeter porous structure on metal-organic framework to construct heterogeneous interface for controlling microwave absorption. Mater Today Phys., 2023, 35: 101126

[34] WuD, DengS, WangY, WenJ, RenL, HeQ. Hierarchical porous carbon fibers for broadband and tunable high-performance microwave absorption. Mater Res Bull., 2024, 172: 112653

[35] DengSL, JiangJ, WuD, HeQC, WangYQ. Three-dimensional conductive network constructed by in-situ preparation of sea urchin-like NiFe₂O₄ in expanded graphite for efficient microwave absorption. J Colloid Interf Sci., 2023, 650: 710

[36] WuD, JiangJ, DengSL, HeQC, WangYQ. Rational construction of mushroom-like Ni@N-doped carbon tubes composites with enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption. J Alloy Compd., 2023, 963: 171230

[37] HangTY, XuCH, ShenJH, ZhengJJ, ZhouLJ, LiMJ, LiXP, JiangSH, YangPA, ZhouW, ChenYM. Ultra-flexible silver/iron nanowire decorated melamine composite foams for high-efficiency electromagnetic wave absorption and thermal management. J Colloid Interf Sci., 2024, 654: 945

[38] LanXL, LiYB, WangZJ. High -temperature electromagnetic wave absorption, mechanical and thermal insulation properties of in -situ grown SiC on porous SiC skeleton. Chem Eng J., 2020, 397: 125250

[39] KangWF, ZhangQY, GouYZ. Fabrication of highly crystalline titanium-containing SiC fibers with different boron contents exhibiting excellent electromagnetic wave absorption. J Mater Sci., 2024, 59: 2739

[40] WangCY, TangJ, WangZC, SheYL, HuangZR, YangY. Tuning the microstructure of porous SiCnw/SiC fabricated by vat photopolymerization 3D printing for electromagnetic wave absorption. Ceram Int., 2024, 50: 7745

[41] AnZ, YeC, ZhangR, ZhouP. Flexible and recoverable SiC nanofiber aerogels for electromagnetic wave absorption. Ceram Int., 2019, 45: 22793

[42] YanLL, WangX, LiWC, YinS, JiaDM, ZouRR, WangYS, HuangW, YinZ, LiYQ. High-temperature resistance and broadband radar absorbers based on SiC nanowires coatings with titanium diboride metasurfaces. Appl Surf Sci., 2024, 653: 159383

[43] CaiZ, SuL, WangH, NiuM, TaoL, LuD, XuL, LiM, GaoH. Alternating Multilayered Si3N4/SiC Aerogels for Broadband and High-Temperature Electromagnetic Wave Absorption up to 1000 °C. ACS Appl Mater Inter., 2021, 13: 16704

[44] SongLM, ChenYQ, GaoQC, LiZ, ZhangXY, WangHL, GuanL, YuZJ, ZhangR, FanBB. Low Weight, low thermal Conductivity, and highly efficient electromagnetic wave absorption of Three-Dimensional Graphene/SiC-nanosheets aerogel. Compos Part A-Appl S., 2022, 158: 106980

[45] DaiD, LanX, WangZ. Hierarchical carbon fiber reinforced SiC/C aerogels with efficient electromagnetic wave absorption properties. Compos Part B-Eng., 2023, 248: 110376

[46] DaiD, LanXL, WuLN, WangZJ. Designed fabrication of lightweight SiC/Si3N4 aerogels for enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption and thermal insulation. J Alloy Compd., 2022, 901: 163651

[47] ChengY, TanM, HuP, ZhangX, SunB, YanL, ZhouS, HanW. Strong and thermostable SiC nanowires/graphene aerogel with enhanced hydrophobicity and electromagnetic wave absorption property. Appl Surf Sci., 2018, 448: 138

[48] ZhangDM, HeW, QuanGQ, WangYL, SuYZ, LeiL, DuYJ, HongY, WangSX, TangY, ZhangWH, ChenYM. Sterculia lychnophora seed-derived porous carbon@CoFe₂O₄ composites with efficient microwave absorption performance. Appl Surf Sci., 2023, 607: 155027

[49] WuLH, LiuJ, LiuX, MouPP, LvHM, LiuR, WenJG, ZhaoJC, LiJL, WangGZ. Microwave-Absorbing Foams with Adjustable Absorption Frequency and Structural Coloration. Nano Lett., 2024, 24: 3369

Funding

National Key R&D Program of China(Key Special Project for Marine Environmental Security)

National Natural Science Foundation of China(52374238)

Youth Innovation Promotion Association(CX2320007001)

the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(WK2320000058)

Key Laboratory of Fire Protection Technology for Industry and Public Building, Ministry of Emergency Management(2022KLIB02)

Collaborative Innovation Program of Universities in Anhui Province(GXXT-2022-018)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Donghua University, Shanghai, China