Intercalation of AlCl3 in microcrystalline graphite via high-temperature mechanochemical method for electromagnetic wave absorption

Given their distinct microstructure, Graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) provide significant application potential in the field of electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA). Herein, microcrystalline graphite (MG) and AlCl3 were employed to fabricate xAlCl(3)-yMGIC powders via a novelty high-temperature mechanochemical method (HTMC). The impact of AlCl3 addition on the microstructure and EMWA properties, the possible EMWA mechanisms of the xAlCl(3)-yMGIC powder, were thoroughly evaluated additionally. The results demonstrate that the intercalation of AlCl3 can significantly improve the EMWA properties of the raw MG. Furthermore, the EMWA properties of the xAlCl(3)-yMGIC powders can be tuned by adapting the AlCl3 contents and the matching thickness. Among them, when the mass ratio of MG to AlCl3 is 1:1 and a sample filling ratio of only 15 wt%, the minimum reflection loss (R-Lmin) of the AlCl3-MGIC powders attains -37.6 dB at 9.52 GHz and a matching thickness of 1.6 mm, covering an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, R-L < -10 dB) of 8.56 - 10.62 GHz. This work presents an innovative concept for the high-value application of MG in the domains of EMWA and the short-process preparation of GICs.