Multifunctional Ti3C2Tx/Fe3O4/glass fiber paper composites for flexible microwave absorption materials with ultralow filling ratio.

The preparation of multifunctional microwave absorbing materials with the characteristics of stronger absorption, wider bandwidth, lighter weight, higher strength and thinner thickness is an urgent research direction. Due to the difficulty of controllable distribution of absorbers, excellent microwave absorption performance is usually accompanied by large absorber amount and thickness, which can result in microwave absorption composite materials lack flexibility, mechanical properties, and adaptability to the environment. In this study, Ti 3 C 2 T x /Fe 3 O 4 /glass fiber paper composite was prepared by vacuum-assisted filtration. The controllable pore structure constructed by glass fiber enables uniform distribution of MXene/Fe 3 O 4 and effectively spreading of MXene monolayer film, enhancing conductivity loss and interface loss. By controlling the diameter of glass fiber, the pore size and the distribution of absorber can be regulated, thereby achieving a minimum reflection loss of up to −57.2 dB at an ultra-low filling ratio of 1.66 wt%. With the addition amount of 1.90 wt%, the effective absorption bandwidth can cover the whole X-band. The ultra-low specific reflection loss exceeds most of fabric materials and MXene-based absorbers. Meanwhile, the composite material exhibited excellent mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 3.054 kN/m and a burst resistance of 290 kPa. In addition, the adhesion between the filler and the glass fiber was increased by adding acrylic resin-based aqueous adhesive, and the surface grafting functional group (-F) made the composite material superhydrophobic. This work provides a new strategy to synthesize multifunctional absorbing material with low filling ratio and strong environmental practicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]