Facile and precise synthesis of core-shell ZnO/C nanorods with excellent microwave absorption

Carbonaceous materials have great prospects in microwave absorption due to their lightweight and corrosion resistance. However, their high conductivity leads to poor impedance matching, posing a significant challenge for obtaining outstanding microwave absorption (MA) materials from carbonaceous materials. In this work, the core-shell ZnO/C nanorods (ZCNs) are prepared by covering conductive carbon on the surface of ZnO nanorods through a simple stirring process in ambient temperature and calcination treatment. The thickness of carbon shell is carefully regulated to realize appropriate impedance matching and strong microwave dissipation capability. ZCN with 30.2 nm of carbon shell achieves outstanding microwave absorption in low frequency and broadband microwave absorption because of the synergies of optimized impedance matching and enhanced dielectric loss: the reflection loss of 49.9 dB at 6.32 GHz, and the effective absorption bandwidth of 6.4 GHz at a corresponding thickness of 2.0 mm. RCS simulation results have verified its excellent performance in practical application. This study proposes a simple and effective idea for the efficient utilization of carbonaceous materials in microwave absorption.