Synthesis of 3D cerium oxide/porous carbon for enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption performance

A series of CeO2/porous carbon composites are successfully prepared by hydrothermal method and subsequent pyrolysis method by using pine cone as biomass carbon source. Besides, the effect of cerium source on the electromagnetic (EM) parameters and electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance of CeO2/porous carbon composites is further investigated. Additionally, the possible EMW absorption mechanism is also discussed. The results show that the CeO2/porous carbon composites show enhanced EMW absorption performance than pure porous carbon materials. Remarkably, with the cerium nitrate content of 0.6 mmol, the binary composites show a minimum reflection loss of − 56.04 dB with a thickness of 1.9 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth is 5.28 GHz with a thickness of 2.1 mm. The remarkable electromagnetic wave absorbing property is attributed to the synergistic effect of porous carbon conductive framework and multiple interface polarization of heterointerfaces, as well as the oxygen vacancy defect caused by the unique structure of CeO2. This work could provide inspiration to broaden the application of CeO2 in dealing with the electromagnetic interference and pollution. Multiple interface polarization along with conductive loss and dipolar polarization are contributed to excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance of the CeO2/porous carbon composites.