Biomimetic leaf structures for ultra-thin electromagnetic wave absorption

Ultra-thin electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers present challenging demands on EMW absorption performance. Drawing inspiration from heather leaf structures, this study introduces an innovative design strategy for EMW absorbing material, proposing biomimetic leaf SnO2 structures (bio-SnO2) on carbon fabric (CF). By employing leaf-shaped SnS2 as precursors, biomimetic leaf SnO2 nanostructures are constructed on CF surface after a simple thermal treatment, resulting in bio-SnO2@CF composite. Experimental results indicate that bio-SnO2@CF exhibits an exceptional minimum reflection loss of −54.8 dB at an incredibly thin thickness of 1.2 mm. Radar cross section (RCS) simulations further validate the outstanding EMW attenuation ability of bio-SnO2@CF, attaining a maximum RCS reduction value of 16.9 dBm2 at an incident wave angle of θ = 0°. This novel research showcases the biomimetic structural design strategy and its remarkable function in enhancing the EMW absorbing performance at ultra-thin absorber thickness.