MXene-Derived TiO2 Nanoparticles Embedded in Volcanic Rock-like N-Doped Porous Carbon Architectures Toward Enhanced Microwave Absorption
摘要
N-doped porous carbon encapsulated TiO2 composites with volcanic rock-like morphology (denoted as TiO2/NPC) were synthesized through a one-step high-temperature calcination strategy. This methodology employed polystyrene microspheres as sacrificial templates, dopamine hydrochloride as the nitrogen precursor, and pre-synthesized thin-layer Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets as the titanium source. Phase composition analysis revealed the coexistence of anatase and rutile TiO2 polymorphs in composites carbonized at 600 °C and 700 °C, whereas complete phase transformation to rutile TiO2 occurred at 800 °C. Systematic investigation of microwave absorption mechanisms demonstrated that the unique three-dimensional volcanic rock-like architecture, coupled with controllable carbonization temperature and nitrogen doping levels, synergistically regulated dielectric loss, conductive dissipation, and impedance matching characteristics. Notably, the composite carbonized at 700 °C (designated as NS700) exhibited exceptional microwave attenuation performance when blended with paraffin at 10 wt% loading. The optimized sample achieved a minimum reflection loss of − 71.5 dB at 9.92 GHz with a 2.5-mm coating thickness, accompanied by an effective absorption bandwidth (RL < − 10 dB) spanning 8.4–12 GHz. These findings highlight the MXene-derived TiO2/NPC composite as an ultra-lightweight microwave absorber with superior performance metrics, positioning it as a promising candidate for next-generation high-efficiency electromagnetic wave absorption applications.
Graphical abstract