A biomass derived porous carbon for broadband and lightweight microwave absorption

With the continuous progress of science and technology, the traditional magnetic material is no longer able to meet the new complex electromagnetic (EM) environment due to its high bulk density. Therefore, the novel excellent EM absorber with the feature of thin thickness, low density, broad absorption bandwidth and strong absorption intensity is highly desired. Herein, we fabricated a porous carbon with ultrahigh porosity through a facile KOH activation from biomass waste pumpkin seed shell for lightweight EM wave absorption application. By optimizing the porous structures, the strong absorption intensity of −50.55 dB is achieved at thin thickness of 1.85 mm under low filler content of only 10 wt %. More interestingly, a broad frequency bandwidth of 7.4 GHz could cover the whole Ku band. These outstanding microwave absorption performances, couple with low cost ingredients and ease of fabrication process enable the porous carbon framework as the next generation promising candidate for lightweight and remarkable EM absorber.