Construction of rGO/MOF-derived CNTs aerogel with multiple losses for multi-functional efficient electromagnetic wave absorber

Graphene aerogels have attracted increasing attention in electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption due to their ultra-low density and excellent dielectric performance. However, pure graphene aerogels have limited loss mechanisms, and it remains a challenge to introduce multiple loss mechanisms while maintaining lightweight. Here, reduced graphene oxide/metal organic framework (MOF)-derived carbon nanotubes (rGO/MD@CNTs) aerogels are successfully constructed by uniformly compositing GO and MOF particles by hydrothermal treatment and further in-situ growing CNTs by chemical vapour deposition method. GO and MOF particles form strong bonding sites due to their interaction to construct the aerogel with excellent mechanical property, while magnetic loss is also introduced. The MOF-catalyzed CNTs not only contribute to the formation of interface and dipole polarizations, but also effectively regulate the conductivity to improve impedance matching. rGO/MD@CNTs aerogel integrates multiple losses and optimal impedance matching. With a filling ratio of 6 wt%, the aerogel exhibits an excellent reflection loss of −51.6 dB and a wide effective absorption bandwidth of 5.9 GHz. In addition, the aerogel shows good thermal stability and antifreeze properties. Therefore, this work provides an effective strategy for obtaining the aerogel with multiple losses for efficient EMW absorption, demonstrating the potential applications of rGO/MD@CNTs aerogel in complex environments.