A wearable microwave absorption cloth

Abstract

A wearable microwave absorption cloth was assembled from a novel multi-scale graphene-supported carbon/nonwoven composite absorber coupled with a reflection plane. The as-fabricated cloth that fulfills the representative wearable characteristics presents qualified microwave absorption performance, promising outstanding platform for the development of advanced wearable materials in numerous industries.

Abstract

Wearable functional materials and textiles have attracted overwhelming attention in a broad range of industries owing to their exclusive merits for developing smart electronic and energy devices. As they are massively utilized in the telecommunication and aerospace communities, microwave absorption materials also require fascinating properties that enable them to exhibit excellent performance ranging from mechanical features to functionalities. Unfortunately, conventionally developed microwave absorbing fillers are generally limited in practice for the undesirable performance in terms of stability and poor durability, which is out of the scope for exploiting wearable and long-term microwave absorption materials. To overcome such limitations, a wearable microwave absorption cloth was fabricated via in situ employing carbon materials into a nonwoven matrix, showing a range of advantages that meet the criteria of high-performance wearable electromagnetic functional materials. According to the best performance curve as well as radar cross section values from a CST simulation, the as-fabricated cloths can deliver ideal microwave absorption performance based on the unique structural configuration. Practical applications indicate that the effective absorption bandwidth of 8.2–14.5 GHz at a thickness of 4 mm has been achieved in a wearable fashion, manifesting a novel platform for developing advanced wearable functional cloth.