Fabrication of multifunctional Co,N co-doped UIO-rGO aerogel with properties of hydrophobic, anti-corrosion, heat insulation, infrared stealth and electromagnetic wave absorption

In addition to having a superior electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption profile, materials of this type that are applied in complex and extreme environments must be hydrophobic, anti-corrosive, heat insulating and infrared stealth. In the described investigation, a multifunctional UIO-la-CoN-rGO aerogel that possesses all of these properties was fabricated by using a hydrothermal and freeze drying process. Lauric acid (la) is incorporated into this aerogel to enlarge pore sizes and enhance hydrophobicity of the Zr-based metal organic framework (UIO-66) component. The large interfacial and dipole polarization caused by anchoring UIO-66 nanospheres to the Co,N co-doped graphene nanosheets results in a high EMW absorbing performance, reflected in a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −44.8 dB and a wide effective absorbing bandwidth (EAB) of 7.28 GHz. In addition, the aerogel displays high levels of hydrophobicity, anti-corrosiveness, heat insulation and infrared stealth. For example, UIO-la-CoN-rGO has a water contact angle of 142.5°and a surface temperature that remains nearly unchanged after more than 1 h at 100 ℃. Moreover, the UIO-la-CoN-rGO coating gives the aerogel an impedance value of 1.5 × 105 Ω·cm2 after being soaked in 3.5 % aqueous NaCl for 30 d, and an anti-corrosion efficiency of 99.149 %. The results of this study provide guidance for the design of multifunctional EMW absorbing materials that function in complex environments.