Exploring interfacial engineering in 3D porous, lightweight ZnFe2O4/rGO aerogel for electromagnetic wave absorption

Exploring interfacial engineering in metal oxide/reduced graphene oxide composite becomes a hotspot in the field of electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) porous ZnFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide (ZFO/rGO) composite aerogel was synthesized in situ by a hydrothermal reduction method combined with freeze-drying technique. The results reveal that dispersed ZFO nanoparticles (NPs) are bonded to defect-rich 3D conductive rGO skeleton in a bridging mode with Fe-O-C, resulting in enhanced conduction loss. Consequently, the defect-rich ZFO/rGO composite aerogel exhibits an outstanding EMW absorbing properties: a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) value of − 29.12 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB with RL less than −10 dB) of 3.57 GHz at an ultra-thin matching thickness of 1.51 mm. This work provides a new strategy for constructing defect-rich graphene-based composite aerogel as an efficient EMW absorbing materials.