Facile synthesis of Ti3C2TX–MXene composite with polyhedron Fe3O4/ carbonyl iron toward microwave absorption

Two-dimensional materials have already been considered as promising microwave absorbing materials due to their unique and charming layered structure. However, it is difficult to achieve excellent absorption performance at a thin thickness. Herein, the polyhedral Fe3O4 was prepared in-situ using sheet-shaped carbonyl iron powder, which not only retained the sheet-like structure of carbonyl iron powder but also formed polyhedral Fe3O4 on the surface. By tuning the ratio of Ti3C2TX/carbonyl iron powder/Fe3O4 microwave absorption capabilities in terms of the minimum reflection loss (RL) value and absorber thickness could be readily optimized. This result is verified by the explanation of the quarter-wavelength law and impedance matching degree. Specifically, when the thickness of the C–F–M 10% composite material is 2.2 mm, the minimum RL value at 9.16 GHz is − 52.1 dB, and the effective absorption bandwidth is 3.32 GHz. The thickness of the C–F–M 15% composite is 2.0 mm, the minimum RL value at 11.12 GHz is − 49.9 dB, and the effective absorption bandwidth is 4.59 GHz. Therefore, Ti3C2TX composite material is expected to become a candidate material for ultra-thin and lightweight absorbers.