In-situ synthesis of ternary layered Y3Si2C2 ceramic on silicon carbide fiber for enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption

A novel ternary layered ceramic of Y3Si2C2 was successfully in-situ synthesized on the surface of home-made third-generation KD-SA SiC fiber for the first time by molten salt method aimed at improving the electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. After in-situ synthesis of Y3Si2C2 ceramic layer on SiC fiber (SiCf/Y3Si2C2), significantly improved EMW absorption performance was obtained. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −16.97 dB was reached in SiCf/Y3Si2C2 composites at the thickness of only 2.19 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) was up to 5.44 GHz (12.56–18 GHz) at a thin thickness of 2.64 mm. The improvement in EMW absorption of SiCf/Y3Si2C2 is mainly attributed to enhanced dielectric loss and conduction loss resulting from increased heterogeneous interfaces and multiple reflections and scattering originating from net structure. The SiCf/Y3Si2C2 could be a promising EMW absorber for application in high-performance EMW absorbing materials.