Novel high-performance electromagnetic absorber based on Nitrogen/Boron co-doped reduced graphene oxide

In this work, N/B co-doped reduced graphene oxide were successfully synthesized with two-step hydrothermal self-assembled process, and exhibited excellent electromagnetic microwave absorption under a loading content of only 5 wt%. Its absorption bandwidth below −10 dB was 6 GHz at a thickness of 2.8 mm, and the minimum reflection loss was −52 dB. The nitrogen/boron co-doping mechanism and influences of multiple atomic bonding configurations on the absorbing properties were investigated in detail. The results suggested that various atomic bonding configurations, including C–N bonds (essentially for pyridinic N and pyrrolic N) with electron donor properties and C–N–B bonds with electron acceptor properties, played synergistic role in improving the electromagnetic absorption performance. The equivalent electric diploe composed of various atomic bonding configurations with electronic resonances, consumed the electromagnetic energy in the manner of "molecular" thermal vibration, and endowed the absorber with impedance matching and good electromagnetic attenuation ability.