Electromagnetic wave absorption performance and rheological behavior of rubber composites with low mass filling rate carbon nanofiber aerogel

Abstract

With the development of electronic information science and technology, electromagnetic information security and electromagnetic pollution become more and more serious. Electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA) rubber based on the absorbent of carbon with low density and good corrosion resistance is a kind of good EMWA materials for solving electromagnetic information security and electromagnetic pollution. In this article, three-dimensional network structure carbon nanofiber aerogels (3DNSCAs) are prepared by vacuum annealing of three-dimensional network structure agarose/zinc acetate obtained by freeze-drying of agarose/zinc acetate gel. The EMWA rubber composites with 2.2% (in mass) 3DNSCAs have almost the same density as silicone rubber (PDMS), and the dispersity of 3DNSCAs in PDMS is studied by rheological analysis. The effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, frequency for reflection loss <–10 dB) of the 2 mm thick PDMS/C-800 is 4 GHz, and the minimum value of reflection loss (${\text{RL}}_{\min }$) is −52 dB with the thickness of 3.5 mm. The PDMS/C-1000 with the thickness of 3.5 mm has an EAB up to 4.8 GHz. Radar cross section (RCS) reduction of PDMS/C-800 can achieve 20 dB⋅m² at the frequency of 6 GHz.