Heterogeneous Fe/Ti3C2Tx MXene derived magnetic-dielectric synergy for efficient microwave attenuation at ultrathin thickness

Modulating the electromagnetic properties of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene to produce an ideal multifunctional and efficient microwave absorbent is a challenging research hotspot. Although the atomic layer deposited transition magnetic metal nanostructures are a feasible strategy, the effects of the components and microstructure of the introduced magnetic nanostructure on the electromagnetic wave absorption performances of the MXene are still far from clear. Here, the Fe element has been selected as the modifier, and a heterostructure Fe/Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene hybrid is constructed by the atomic layer deposition of Fe nanoparticles on the Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets. The influences of the deposition cycles on the chemical composition, microstructure, electromagnetic response characteristics, and microwave absorption properties are investigated. The results show that the decoration of Fe nanoparticles enables a tunable electromagnetic performance. The Fe/Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene hybrid achieves an optimal attenuation with the minimum reflection loss of -82.94 dB at a small thickness of 1.16 mm, corresponding with an effective absorption bandwidth of 3.76 GHz. The strong microwave absorption is attributed to the dielectric-magnetic synergy in the MXene and Fe nanoparticles, which provides excellent impedance matching, interfacial and dipolar polarization loss, and magnetic resonance loss. Specifically, the hybrid endows a low Fe content of 2.66 wt%. This is important for the design of a lightweight absorber with high attenuation efficiency.