N-doped composites prepared from ferro-based acrylate resin precursors for electromagnetic wave absorption

There are numerous challenges in the low-cost batch fabrication of high-performance absorbers. A low-cost preparation process for metal-containing acrylic resin (3SM-yAN, y = 6, 9 and 12) employs a one-step free radical polymerization of iron (III) chloride, sodium methacrylate, and acrylonitrile. Fe-3SM-yAN was prepared using carbonization. The carbonization of metal-containing acrylic resin was performed at 800 °C in an argon atmosphere for two hours. The broadest effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of Fe-3SM-9AN absorbing material yielded 8.07 GHz at 2 mm with a minimum reflection loss of − 36.70 dB (11.41 GHz), and the EAB could cover 14.8 GHz (3.2–18 GHz) with a tunable absorber thickness from 1.0 to 5.0 mm. The synergistic effect of impedance matching and strong electromagnetic attenuation was found to yield excellent microwave absorption of Fe-3SM-yAN(y = 6, 9 and 12). The magnetic porous shell-like Fe-3SM-yAN is potentially highly suitable for batch production of lightweight and efficient microwave-absorbing materials.