Multifunctional composite metamaterials for ultra-wideband microwave absorption, radar stealth, antibacterial and adsorption-purification

Electromagnetic wave absorption materials have significant application value in modern electronic devices, communication systems, and aerospace fields. With the continuous advancement of technology, the demand for materials with efficient wave absorption performance and wide bandwidth is steadily increasing. This study focuses on heterostructure design and multi-component strategies, which have been proven to effectively enhance the material’s reflection loss and absorption bandwidth. By employing electrostatic self-assembly and hydrazine reduction techniques, silver (Ag) nanoparticles were successfully anchored onto reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene (MR) hybrids. The MXene/RGO/Ag (MRAg) hybrid, with only a 20 wt% filler content, exhibits outstanding wave absorption performance, with a minimal reflection loss (RLmin) of −47.28 dB (2.2 mm, 8.0 GHz) and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.08 GHz (2.2 mm), achieving an absorption rate of 99.998 %. The excellent wave absorption performance arises from multiple mechanisms, including polarization effects, impedance matching, conductive losses, quarter-wavelength effects, multiple reflections, metamaterial characteristics, quasi-antenna effects, and magnetic losses. Notably, the radar cross-section (RCS) of the MRAg composite material achieves a maximum reduction of 35.6 dB ∙ m 2 , indicating excellent radar stealth performance. Additionally, MRAg demonstrates excellent antibacterial and adsorption-purification properties. The study of MRAg wave absorbents provides valuable theoretical and practical contributions to fields such as radar stealth, satellite communication, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, while also offering new insights for the development of multifunctional wave absorbents.