Phase Engineering on Amorphous/Crystalline -Fe₂O₃ Nanosheets for Boosting Dielectric Loss and High-Performance Microwave Absorption

To design and develop efficient microwave absorbents via phase engineering is still less studied. The unique properties caused by constructing heterophase structure hold the potential to strengthen absorbing capability toward microwave radiation. Herein, amorphous/crystalline gamma-Fe2O3 nanosheets (Fe-H) are carefully fabricated through a controlled annealing process. The matched Fermi levels formed on both sides of the heterophase interface not only provides efficient interfacial polarizations but also facilitates the transport of electrons with less scattering over the whole Fe-H nanosheets. Thereby, both of the conduction loss and dielectric polarization relaxation are promoted, leading to a strengthened attenuation toward electromagnetic wave radiation. The as-synthesized Fe-H sample exhibited a minimum reflection loss of -89.5 dB centered at a thickness of 2.00 mm, associated with an effective absorption bandwidth (reflection loss <= -10 dB) reaching 6.45 GHz. All of these behaviors are superior to its pure amorphous absorbent and bare crystalline counterpart. Furthermore, this heterophase engineering strategy is valid when extended to Co and Ni based oxides, suggesting its universality and generality for promoting microwave absorption. Henceforth, this study indicates a favorable potential of the synthesis and application of amorphous/crystalline materials as heterophase microwave absorbents.