Improved microwave absorbing performance of natural rubber composite with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and molybdenum disulfide hybrids

Multicomponent nanocomposites demonstrate many properties that are not found in their mono-counterparts. Here, natural rubber (NR) composites with improved electromagnetic properties were prepared via incorporating hybrids of one-dimensional multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). Evidenced by the morphological results, the restacking of MoS(2)and the tortuous of MWCNTs are effectively inhibited due to the depletion-effect of the different dimensional nanoblocks. Owing to the synergetic effect of MWCNTs and MoS2, the resulted NR/MWCNTs/MoS(2)nanocomposites showed higher electromagnetic properties than their NR/MWCNTs and NR/MoS(2)counterparts did. The reflection loss of NR/MWCNTs/MoS(2)composites with 5 vol% MWCNTs and 5 vol% MoS(2)is -49.04 dB, which is 9.2 and 21.9 times stronger than that of sole MWCNTs or MoS(2)filled NR composites, respectively. Such composite with excellent microwave capacity could be used as a new kind of candidate for the new types of microwave absorbing materials.