Excellent microwave absorption of lightweight PAN-based carbon nanofibers prepared by electrospinning

One-dimensional PAN-based carbon nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning in combination with a high-temperature carbonization process. The prepared PAN-based nanofibers were characterized by a high aspect ratio. The microwave absorption property was adjusted by controlling the carbonization temperature. The carbonization temperature affected the degree of graphitization, which directly affected the dielectric loss and further improved the microwave absorption properties of PAN-based carbon nanofibers. The PAN-based carbon fibers were optimized in terms of both maximum reflection loss (RLmin) and effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) after carbonization at 800 °C. The PAN-based carbon fiber/paraffin composites containing 10 wt% filler exhibited excellent absorption performance with a maximum reflection loss of − 12.75 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 4.88 GHz (13.12–18 GHz) at 2.2 mm, which basically covered the Ku-band (12.88–17.88 GHz). When the absorber thickness was 2.4 mm, the reflection loss at 14.4 GHz was − 11.39 dB, and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth was 5.04 GHz (11.92–16.96 GHz). PAN-based carbon nanofibers showed excellent absorption properties due to the dielectric loss in cooperation with good impedance matching.