Enhancement of electromagnetic attenuation of network CNT-Carbon microsphere nanocomposites derived from phenolic resin

Carbon nanocomposites have attracted extensive attention due to their excellent electromagnetic attenuation (EMA) properties. Herein, carbon nanocomposites containing the carbon nanotube (CNT)-carbon microsphere (CS) network derived from phenolic resin are prepared, and their EMA properties are investigated. The results show that the microstructure of these carbon nanocomposites can be regulated by a catalyst to transform CSs into CNTs, which ultimately results in the networks forming a "resistor-capacitor" structure. As a result, the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) is −60.77 dB at 2.80 GHz, which is within the S-band, and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) is 5.77 GHz. The excellent EMA properties can be attributed to the synergistic effect of heterogeneous interfacial and conduction networks, which induces abundant interfacial polarization and conduction loss. A new solution for achieving a wide absorption band for carbon and high electromagnetic wave attenuation in carbon nanocomposites is proposed.