Enhanced electromagnetic microwave absorption of SiC nanowire-reinforced PDC-SiC ceramics catalysed by rare earth

Rare earth elements can modulate the dielectric constant of materials and significantly improve their dielectric properties. Herein, SiCnws/SiC ceramics were prepared through polymer derived ceramics (PDCs) technology with rare earth Sc particles as the catalyst. The Sc particles promote the precipitation of SiC and C from the matrix. Furthermore, the SiCnws, grown via the vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, construct the three dimensional (3D) network structure to improve impedance matching and loss characteristics. Remarkably, the SiCnws/SiC ceramics minimum reflection coefficient (RCmin) achieved a value of -33.2 dB at 9.4 GHz with a thickness of 2.75 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) was 4.2 GHz covering the whole X band. When microwaves permeated into the SiCnws/SiC ceramics, those trapped in the 3D network structure underwent a variety of microwave energy dissipation processes, including multiple reflections, scattering, and interface and dipole polarisation. Consequently, SiCnws-reinforced PDC-SiC ceramics catalysed by rare earth emerge as a promising new approach to enhance electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption performance.