Uniting Superior Electromagnetic Wave Absorption with High Thermal Stability in Bioinspired Metamaterial by Direct Ink Writing

Abstract

High-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials are in great demand in intelligent communication and camouflage fields. Achieving efficient EMW absorption under some extreme environments, such as strong chemical corrosion and thermal impact, remains a huge challenge. Drawing inspiration from the natural structure of rose petals, here a three-dimensionally printed SiOC-ZrB₂ metamaterial is proposed, which shows not only gradient impedance but also multiple polarization modes. Such advancements endow the metamaterial with a broad bandwidth of 10.80 GHz and a strong reflection loss of −39.17 dB. Importantly, serving as a wing of an aircraft, the metamaterial presents a small radar cross-section of −59.54 dB(m²) and a high thermo-oxidative stability up to 1500 °C, with a mass change of less than 3.2% after exposure for 240 min, holding a great promise for extremely thermal scenes. This work extends the design strategy of EMW absorption metamaterial and drives the development of advanced absorbers with environmental adaptation.