Manganese oxides/graphene aerogels as lightweight microwave absorbers for extreme environment application

The development of microwave absorbing materials (MAMs) with photothermal and electrothermal properties can satisfy special requirements for MAMs used in extreme environment. Herein, manganese oxide/graphene aerogel (MnOx/GA) composites were successfully fabricated by uniformly growing MnOx on GA through combining the hydrothermal and freeze-drying methods. The MnOx/GA composite exhibits a distinctive three-dimensional network structure with heterogeneous interfaces and lattice defects that can optimize the impedance matching and enhance the interfacial polarization, resulting in improved microwave absorption (MA) performance, including absorption intensity and bandwidth. The MnOx/GA sample prepared in this study exhibits an outstanding MA intensity of −54.70 dB at a frequency of 9.92 GHz, accompanied by an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.60 GHz with a sample thickness of 2.60 mm and a filling content of 8.0 wt%. Meanwhile, the simulation of the radar cross section (RCS) further confirms the excellent MA performance and practical application potential of the MnOx/GA material. Additionally, MnOx/GA possesses outstanding electrothermal and photothermal properties, rendering it suitable for application in extreme environments. This work provides an economical, environmentally friendly, and efficient method for preparing lightweight and broadband multi-functional MAMs.