Open Access

ARTICLE

In-Situ Growing of Branched CNFs on Reusable RCFs to Construct Hierarchical Cross-Linked Composite for Enhanced Microwave Absorption

Lei Liu^*, Shenao Pang, Zhuhui Luo

College of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan University of Technology, Zhuzhou, 412008, China

* Corresponding Author: Lei Liu. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Renewable Biomass-based Magnetic Composites for Eliminating the Contamination of Microwave Radiation)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2023, 11(11), 3891-3906. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2023.028192

Received 04 December 2022; Accepted 23 March 2023; Issue published 31 October 2023

Abstract

The recycling of carbon fibers and protection from unwanted microwave radiation are two important environmental issues that need to be addressed in modern society. Herein, branched carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were grown in-situ on recycled carbon fibers (RCFs) through the chemical vapor deposition method using nickel as catalysts and thiophene as aided-catalysts. The effect of thiophene on the growth morphology of CNFs was investigated. Correspondingly, branched CNFs-RCFs and straight CNFs-RCFs were respectively obtained in the presence and absence of thiophene. The microstructure and electromagnetic behaviour investigations have shown that the branched CNFs possess a typical multi-branched structure, with more defects, pores and a larger specific surface area than the straight CNFs, which lead to better impedance matching and adequate dielectric loss ability for the branched CNFs-RCFs. The reflection loss (RL) results show that the branched CNFs-RCFs exhibit an optimum RL of −23.6 dB at 1.5 mm and a best effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 7.5 GHz at 2.0 mm. This research provides an innovative microwave absorbing material with adequate absorbing strength and outstanding EAB, while also promoting the sustainable reuse of the RCFs resources.

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