Recent progress in carbon-based materials and loss mechanisms for electromagnetic wave absorption

The burgeoning advancement of electronic technology and wireless communications has opened up an unprecedented era of electromagnetic wave applications, but the accompanying issues of electromagnetic pollution are equally deserving of profound attention. In recent years, a variety of novel electromagnetic absorbers have been ingeniously designed and actively emerged, among which carbon-based materials have become one of the most promising alternatives for next-generation electromagnetic functional materials, owing to the low density, tunable electrical properties, high stability, and chemical tolerance. This article comprehensively reviews the current research status and frontier science of carbon-based absorbing materials serving in microwave frequency band, and discusses in detail the microwave absorption mechanisms of various carbon-based systems as well as the critical factors affecting microwave attenuation. Furthermore, strategies to optimize microwave absorption performance of carbon-based materials through component design, structural modification, morphology modulation, and composite approaches will be discussed, with particular emphasis on their intrinsic correlation with magnetic-dielectric loss characteristics. Finally, the urgent requirements for improving carbon-based absorbing materials and insights into future development are provided, covering from material design to performance optimization to device-based applications. This review endeavors to support valuable references for research on carbon-based microwave absorbing materials and to stimulate further innovative thinking.