Developing lightweight electromagnetic wave absorbers with low filler loading remains challenging. However, carbon materials rarely achieve strong attenuation capability, wide absorption bandwidth, lightweight and thin thickness simultaneously. Herein, a carbon fiber-hyperbranched polyamide-reduced graphene oxide (CF-HP-RGO) interfacial micro-capacitor architecture was rationally constructed through thermal reduction. The incorporation of HP and RGO introduces dual heterogeneous interfaces between carbon fibers and RGO layers, while forming CF-HP-RGO micro-capacitor units that act as dominant polarization centers. Under alternating electromagnetic fields, these micro-capacitor interfaces generate pronounced charge accumulation and interfacial polarization, thereby strengthening dielectric relaxation and polarization loss. Meanwhile, the interconnected RGO network establishes efficient electron-transport pathways, producing additional conductive loss. In addition, the multilayer hierarchical interface enhances multiple scattering, effectively extending electromagnetic propagation paths and improving attenuation efficiency. As a result, the optimized composite delivers a maximum effective absorption bandwidth of 5.24 GHz in the Ku band at an ultrathin thickness of 1.6 mm with a filler loading of only 5 wt.%. This work highlights micro-capacitor-dominated interfacial engineering as a promising route toward lightweight and high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption in carbon materials.

Doping strategies have been widely demonstrated as effective approaches to tailor microwave absorption properties in various material systems. However, achieving high-entropy doping (HED) in MoS₂ while minimizing phase ratio interference, effectively integrating multiple transition metal element substitutions, and elucidating the underlying absorption mechanisms remain significant challenges. In this work, we develop a modular in situ/post solvothermal doping process to realize the cooperative incorporation of multiple dopants into a metallic-phase MoS₂ (1T-MoS₂) host. For the first time, we systematically investigate the effects of multiple-element codoping, including high-density lattice strain, crystalline defects, localized charge accumulation, and redistribution, which significantly increase dipole polarization loss. Owing to the balanced impedance characteristics and coordinated polarization/conductive losses enabled by HED engineering, the WVNbTaRu-MoS₂ sample achieves a broadband effective absorption bandwidth of 7.65 GHz, which is more than double that of its undoped counterparts. Through combinatorial screening, we proposed 31 feasible doping configurations and experimentally validated 9 variants, establishing a foundational framework for designing advanced MoS₂-based absorbers with tailored electromagnetic properties. This study provides innovative insights and pathways for the rational design of high-performance transition metal dichalcogenide-based microwave absorbers.

Heterostructured magnetic composites with exchange coupling effects are considered to be promising electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers. In this work, tailored heterostructures of soft magnetic ZnFe₂O₄ and hard magnetic Fe₃C are generated and tightly anchored on two-dimensional (2D) carbon nanosheets, by in-situ blowing and carbonization process of gel precursor. Nanosized soft/hard magnetic phases generate large number of heterogeneous interfaces. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm the exchange coupling effect that results from the dynamic charges reconstruction of soft/hard magnetic heterogeneous interface. The synthesized Fe₃C/ZnFe₂O₄/C (FZC) shows wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.56 GHz and RL_min value of −65.6 dB. By layer-to-layer stacking of 2D FZC and reduced graphene oxide (rGO), the obtained flexible rGO/FZC-1 film can effectively shield 5G signals. Importantly, both the 2D morphology and abundant heterostructures restrain the diffusion of saline ions inside the FZC coatings and enhance the “maze effect”, finally improving the corrosion resistance in marine environment. This work provides advanced nanostructure integrating 2D morphology and soft/hard magnetic heterostructure with effective exchange coupling, which can simultaneously achieve the EMW stealth and high corrosion resistance.

Owing to its unique two-dimensional structure and tunable electronic properties, MoS₂ has emerged as a promising electromagnetic wave (EMW)-absorbing material that can be extensively combined with various other substances to construct effective EMW absorbers. However, research on cation substitution doping in MoS₂ remains relatively limited, which impedes the design and development of high-performance MoS₂-based EMW absorbing materials. In this study, MoS₂ was synthesized with various concentrations of doped Fe via a facile hydrothermal method. We thoroughly investigated the effects of Fe doping, which induced lattice distortion and collapse, triggered a 1T‒2H phase transition, and led to the formation and evolution of second phases. The modulation of phase transitions, coupled with doping-induced lattice defects that enhance polarization and interfacial polarization from second phases, enabled the Fe-doped MoS₂ samples to exhibit remarkable EMW absorption performance. Notably, the sample FM3 achieved an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.1 GHz and a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of −60.6 dB, underscoring the critical role of Fe doping in increasing the EMW absorption ability. This research provides valuable pathways and unique insights for the advancement of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as high-performance EMW-absorbing materials.

Graphene is a promising electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA) material because of its structural designability, controllable electromagnetic properties, and excellent stability. However, the impedance mismatch caused by high conductivity and dielectric properties has seriously hindered the application of graphene in the EMWA field. In this work, based on the dielectric dispersion behavior of ideal broadband absorption as a guide, a Fe microsheet/reduced graphene oxide (Fe/RGO) composite was prepared by simple hydrothermal and thermal reduction methods. The permittivity of RGO is optimized by adjusting the content of anisotropic Fe microsheets, and a balance between attenuation ability and impedance matching is achieved. Theoretical calculations and off-axis electron holography results reveal that the abundant polar sites and heterogeneous interfaces of Fe and RGO enhance the dipole and interface polarizations. The three-dimensional (3D) conductive network structure contributes to multiple reflections of incident electromagnetic waves and conduction loss. The natural and exchange resonances and eddy current loss caused by anisotropic Fe microsheets further increase magnetic loss. Based on the dielectric-magnetic loss mechanism and good impedance matching, Fe/RGO achieves a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of −67.95 dB at 8.48 GHz and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB_max) of 6.91 GHz (11.09–18 GHz) with a low filling content of 10 wt%. In addition, Fe/RGO has excellent radar stealth performance, with a radar cross section (RCS) of −31.21 dBm² at 0°. Therefore, the proposed strategy and theoretical analysis provide a reference for the microstructure design, composition, and mechanism analysis of EMWA materials.

Heterostructure engineering for sulfur hosts is an effective way to achieve interfacial synergistic effects on suppressing the "shuttle effect" of polysulfides and thus improve electrochemical performance of lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Rational selection and design of different components into heterostructures is vital to enhance the synergistic effect. Herein, MoS₂/MoP Mott–Schottky heterostructure nanoparticles decorated on reduced graphene oxide (MoS₂/MoP@rGO) are fabricated and used as sulfur host firstly. Theoretical calculation and experiment results reveal that the in-situ introduction of MoP could tune the electronic structure, activate the basal plane of MoS₂, and achieve the interfacial synergistic effects between adsorption (MoS₂) and fast conversion (MoP). Such synergistic effects enable MoS₂/MoP@rGO to not only remarkably facilitate Li₂S deposition during the discharging process but also significantly accelerate the Li₂S dissolution during the charging process, demonstrating bidirectional promotion behaviors. Thus, the designed cathode delivers initial capacity of 919.5 mA∙h∙g⁻¹ with capacity of 502.3 mA∙h∙g⁻¹ remaining after 700 cycles at 0.5 C. Even under higher sulfur loading of 4.31 mg∙cm⁻² and lower electrolyte to sulfur (E/S) ratio of 8.21 μL∙mg⁻¹, the MoS₂/MoP@rGO@S cathode could still achieve good capacity and cycle stability. This work provides a novel and efficient structural design strategy of sulfur hosts for high-performance Li–S energy storage systems.

The field of electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA) requires the adaptability, tenability, and multifunction of high-performance materials in the future. The design and preparation of EWA materials aiming at performance requirements is the latest research hotspot. Here, a performance-driven strategy for simultaneously coordinating different target performances was proposed to optimize the structure of the periodical long continuous carbon/glass fiber fabric (PCGF) materials through algorithm and simulation. The optimized structure of the PCGF not only improves the impedance matching, but also introduces the induced orientation effect for a high cooperative loss of conductivity, resonance, and periodic structure. The flexible PCGF shows a broad effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 32.7 GHz covering a part of the C-band and the whole X-, Ku-, K-, and Ka-bands with a thickness (d) of only 0.92 mm and a density of 5.6×10⁻⁴ kg·cm⁻³. This highly designable fabric is promising for the EWA practical application owing to integrating the characteristics of good flexibility, acid and alkali resistance, bending resistance, excellent mechanical properties, and easy large-scale preparation.

Inspired by the pomegranate natural artful structure, pomegranate micro/nano hierarchical plasma configuration of Fe/Fe₃C@graphitized carbon (FFC/pCL) was constructed based on the green sol-gel method and in-situ chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis protocol. Pomegranate-like FFC/pCL successfully overcame the agglomeration phenomenon of magnetic nanoparticles with each seed of the pomegranate consisting of Fe/Fe₃C as cores and graphitized carbon layers as shells. The high-density arrangement of magnetic nanoparticles and the design of pomegranate-like heterostructures lead to enhanced plasmon resonance. Thus, the pomegranate-like FFC/pCL achieved a great electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing performance of 6.12 GHz wide band absorption at a low mass adding of only 16.7 wt.%. Such excellent EMW performance can be attributed to its unique pomegranate hierarchical plasma configuration with separated nanoscale iron cores, surface porous texture, and good carbon conductive network. This investigation provides a new paradigm for the development of magnetic/carbon based EMW absorbing materials by taking advantage of pomegranate hierarchical plasma configuration.

Wood-derived carbon has a 3D porous framework composed of through channels along the growth direction, which is a suitable matrix for preparing electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials with low cost, light weight, and environmental friendliness. Herein, the carbonized wood decorated by short cone-like NiCo₂O₄ (NiCo₂O₄@CW) with highly ordered straight-channel architecture was successfully manufactured through a facile calcination procedure. The horizontal arrangement of the through channels of NiCo₂O₄@CW (H-NiCo₂O₄@CW) exhibits a strong reflection loss value of -64.0 dB at 10.72 GHz with a thickness of 3.62 mm and a low filling ratio of 26 wt% (with the density of 0.98 g·cm^-3), and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) is 8.08 GHz (9.92-18.0 GHz) at the thickness of 3.2 mm. The excellent microwave absorption (MA) property was ascribed to the ordered-channel structure with abundant interfaces and defects from NiCo₂O₄@CW, which could promote the interfacial polarization and dipole polarization. What is more, this advantageous structure increased the multiple reflections and scattering. Finite element analysis (FEA) simulation is carried out to detect the interaction between the prepared material and EMW when the ordered channels are arranged in different directions. This research provides a low-cost, sustainable, and environmentally friendly strategy for using carbonized wood to fabricate microwave absorbers with strong attenuation capabilities and light weight.